Department for Transport

Taxis: Greater London

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the effect of increasing traffic congestion on the viability of the cab trade in London; and if he will make a statement.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: Transport in London is devolved to the Mayor of London, and it is for him to consider what, if any, assessment is made of the impacts of congestion on the London taxi trade.

Taxis: Greater London

Paul Scully: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the effect of increasing traffic congestion on the viability of the cab trade in London; and if he will make a statement.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: Transport in London is devolved to the Mayor of London, and it is for him to consider what, if any, assessment is made of the impacts of congestion on the London taxi trade.

Department for Transport: Press Releases

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will review the language used in his Department's press releases to ensure that such releases are measured and reasonable.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: All press releases by my Department aim to be measured, reasonable and in line with the requirements of the Civil Service Code.

Community Transport

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on the proposed revision of Regulation 1071/2009 on exemptions for community transport providers operating for non-commercial purposes.

Jesse Norman: Department for Transport officials are in regular contact with their EU Commission counterparts about a range of issues, including on the exemptions in EU Regulation 1071/2009. Wherever possible, the Department wants community transport providers to continue to operate, and retain, service provision for vulnerable community transport passengers.

Severn Tunnel: Closures

Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 9 July 2018 to Question 159567 on Severn Tunnel: Closures, whether his Department holds information on the costs of the engineering work during the temporary closure of the Severn Tunnel in 2018.

Joseph Johnson: Network Rail hold the detail of these costs. This is part of the over £5bn investment in the Great Western route to deliver faster, more reliable services and new trains with thousands more seats.

Govia Thameslink Railway: Greater London

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has made any assessment of the disruption caused by recent timetable changes implemented by Govia Thameslink Railways to students during the exam season in (a) London and (b) Lewisham Deptford constituency.

Joseph Johnson: During the exam period, Govia Thameslink Railway have put in place rail replacement buses and taxis as well as ticket acceptance arrangements with other operators.

Crossrail and High Speed 2 Railway Line: North East

Mr Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the benefits of (a) Crossrail and (b) High Speed 2 are for North East England.

Joseph Johnson: Both Crossrail and High Speed 2 will provide benefits that reach far beyond the towns and regions directly served by the new lines. Specifically:a) The Crossrail project is estimated to generate at least £42 billion for the UK economy, and is generating enough work to support the equivalent of 55,000 full time jobs throughout the project and its supply chain all around the UK. In total, approximately 62% of suppliers are based outside London. A number of these suppliers have bases in the North East including Mammoet, who supplied cranes and specialist equipment to help assemble the tunnelling machines, and Cleveland Bridge, based in Darlington, who supplied steel to Crossrail sites. b) On HS2 with respect to the North East specifically, the Secretary of State has confirmed the connection to the ECML at Church Fenton, east of Leeds. This link will help ensure that the Eastern Leg of the HS2 route is fully integrated into the wider rail network. On current plans the link will be used by HS2 services to York, Darlington, Durham and Newcastle from both Birmingham and London, delivering improved connectivity and journey times between those locations.

Electric Vehicles: Charging Points

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the cost to the public purse has been of the Go Ultra Low City Scheme since the launch of that scheme.

Jesse Norman: To date £36,161,400 has been paid to the eight Go Ultra Low Cities from the £40m budget.

Motor Vehicles: Exhaust Emissions

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the cost of reinforcing the electricity National Grid to cater for the demands created by the Road to Zero policy.

Jesse Norman: National Grid published their 2018 Future Energy Scenarios on 12 July (http://fes.nationalgrid.com/media/1363/fes-interactive-version-final.pdf), and previously produced a bespoke note on the electricity system impacts of electric vehicles (http://fes.nationalgrid.com/media/1264/ev-myth-buster-v032.pdf). The level of impact that National Grid presents is readily manageable by the electricity system. The Government is analysing these impacts, including in relation to costs, and has established an Electric Vehicle Energy Taskforce in order to consider these issues.

Electric Vehicles: Charging Points

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the preparation of the Road to Zero policy, what estimate he has made of the number of dwellings that (a) do and (b) do not have parking on their own drive or parking area.

Jesse Norman: According to the English Housing Survey (2016) an estimated 66.1% of dwellings in England have a garage or other off-road parking provision, with the remainder not having access to such parking provision: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/627588/DA2201_Parking_and_mains_gas_-_dwellings.xlsx

Traffic Lights

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the environmental advantages of introducing off-peak flashing Amber traffic lights.

Jesse Norman: A research project commissioned by the Department and published in 2012 found that countries that were using flashing amber were moving away from it towards traffic responsive systems. In addition, there was some evidence that flashing amber led to an increase in accidents. The report can be found at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/9209/traffic-signals-low-demand-periods.pdf. Most traffic signals in the UK are traffic responsive, meaning that they use sensors to monitor traffic flow and adjust timings where needed, to reduce unnecessary delays. By keeping traffic moving as efficiently as possible, these systems can also reduce emissions and provide environmental benefits.

Roads: Litter

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what changes have been made to the performance specification for Highways England to reflect the goal of improving litter cleaning set out on page 58 of the 2017 Litter Strategy for England.

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to page 58 of the 2017 Litter Strategy for England, whether a revised Key Performance Indicator has been introduced for Highways England relating to litter cleaning.

Jesse Norman: The Department is currently considering a revised Key Performance Indicator for Highways England as part of the development of the second Road Investment Strategy (2020 – 2025).

Traffic Commissioners: Pay

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the timetable is for confirming the salary of the Senior Traffic Commissioner; and if he will make a statement.

Jesse Norman: The salary for the Senior Traffic Commissioner (STC) is £97,354 per annum. The extra responsibilities of the STC carries an additional allowance of £26,275. This is confirmed and the Department will be paying this allowance shortly. An annual pay rise is pending and its timing is related to decisions about other public appointments.

Traffic Commissioners: Pay

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the salaries are for Traffic Commissioners in each region.

Jesse Norman: The salary for each Traffic Commissioner is standard throughout the regions. It is currently £97,354 per annum.

Season Tickets: Sales

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect the recent decline of season tickets sales will have on the current franchise model.

Joseph Johnson: The Department frequently meets Train Operating Companies (TOCs) to discuss their financial performance. We also have a specialist central team which monitors the financial performance of TOCs. In both cases we consider the impact of changes in revenue sources, including season ticket sales. The Department’s franchise model contains a range of options for revenue risk-share mechanisms. We select the most appropriate mechanism based on the circumstances of each franchise we let, including taking account of the changing type of ticket sales in that franchise.

Parking: Pedestrian Areas

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the (a) timescale and (b) scope is of the research his Department is conducting on Traffic Regulation Orders in relation to pavement parking.

Jesse Norman: The Department for Transport is gathering evidence on the issue of pavement parking to consider the effectiveness of current regulatory frameworks and assess the case for various alternatives. This work is under way and we expect to draw conclusions towards the end of this year.

Heathrow Airport: Noise

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the effect on noise pollution over Camberwell and Peckham constituency of the construction of a third runway at Heathrow Airport.

Jesse Norman: The Airports National Policy Statement sets out the Government’s expectations for a package of supporting measures to limit the effects of noise from an expanded Heathrow airport on local communities, including the provision of predictable periods of respite, the development of a noise envelope and a six-and-a-half-hour ban on scheduled night flights. The Appraisal of Sustainability that accompanies the Airports National Policy Statement provides a strategic level assessment of the unmitigated noise effects of expansion, based on indicative flightpaths. At this stage, it is not possible to identify the exact noise effects on specific communities after expansion as the scheme remains subject to the development consent order and airspace change processes, which will include public consultation.

Heathrow Airport: Noise

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of establishing a legally binding noise threshold at Heathrow airport.

Jesse Norman: The Airports National Policy Statement makes it clear that any noise envelope at an expanded Heathrow should be tailored to local priorities and include clear noise performance targets. The scheme promoter is expected to put forward proposals on how noise mitigation measures (such as a noise envelope) may be secured and enforced, including the bodies who may enforce those measures. The precise design of a noise envelope, including the details of any monitoring and enforcement regime, will be decided upon through the planning process, in consultation with local communities and relevant stakeholders. These will then be considered by the Planning Inspectorate and the Secretary of State in determining any Development Consent Order application.

Bus Services: Exhaust Emissions

Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to extend the ultra-low emission but scheme to coach operators.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: At present there are no plans to extend the ultra-low emission bus scheme to coach operators. However, the Clean Air Fund is available for those local authorities with a significant NO2 exceedance. Measures which the fund could support include retrofitting solutions for coaches to help operators reduce their emissions.

Bus Services: Air Pollution

Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the extent to which coach travel contributes to improvements in air quality; and if he will make a statement.

Jesse Norman: Coaches can reduce congestion and associated emissions. Local Authorities with a significant NO2 exceedance have conducted feasibility studies assessing the impact of road transport on local emissions, including from coaches. The £220m Clean Air Fund is available for these local authorities to help improve air quality, including measures such as coach retrofitting to reduce emissions. Furthermore, the Government has funded the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership’s Clean Vehicle Retrofit Accreditation Scheme, which has been extended to support retrofit solutions for coaches.

Bus Services

Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, in which local authority areas in (a) London and (b) England outside London the number of bus journeys per head of population has increased since 2011.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: According to the Department’s annual survey of local bus operators the following local authority areas saw an increase in passenger journeys on local bus service per head between 2011/12 and 2016/17: Bath and North East SomersetBrighton and HoveBristol, City ofHaltonHertfordshireIsle of WightLutonMilton KeynesNorth SomersetOxfordshirePooleReadingSouth GloucestershireSouthamptonThurrockWest BerkshireWokingham The Department does not hold data on passenger journeys per head in individual London authorities. However, overall passenger journeys per head on local bus services in London fell from 283 in 2011/12 to 255 in 2016/17. Mid-year population estimates from the Office for National Statistics are used to calculate the per head figures but this does not account for bus passengers using the bus outside the local authority in which they reside.

Bus Services: WiFi

Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, on how many buses free Wi-Fi is available (a) in London and (b) elsewhere in England.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: According to the Department’s annual survey of local bus operators there were approximately 10,200 buses used on local bus services in London as at 31 March 2017, of which 3 per cent had free Wi-Fi. No buses on routes run under contract to TfL have free Wi-Fi. However, some buses on non-TfL bus routes in London do have free Wi-Fi. In England outside London there were approximately 24,700 buses used on local bus services as at 31 March 2017, of which 34 per cent had free Wi-Fi.

Bus Service Operators Grant

Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the importance of the Bus Service Operators Grant on the stability of local bus services.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: No specific assessment has been made regarding Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) and the stability of bus services. But departmental assessments of the £250m of BSOG (in England outside London) suggest that it helps to keep fares lower by 3%, service levels 6.7% higher, and patronage 4.4% higher.

European Maritime Safety Agency

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress has been made in establishing domestic equivalents to the European Maritime Safety Agency information systems currently used by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency to regulate the safety of (a) passengers, (b) merchant seafarers, (c) merchant ships and (d) the marine environment in the UK; and whether the domestic equivalent for each of those is on course to be operational by March 2019.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The government is confident that we can agree a deep and special partnership with the EU. However, a responsible government should prepare for all potential outcomes, including the unlikely scenario in which no mutually satisfactory agreement can be reached. To this end, the Department for Transport and Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) have worked closely together to understand the operational risks which the MCA would be exposed to in the event that access to EMSA’s systems was lost on exit day, including how best to mitigate these risks.The Maritime and Coastguard Agency is now working to deliver these domestic equivalent systems and we are confident these can be in place by exit day.

European Maritime Safety Agency

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the (a) costs to the public purse of and (b) delivery date for the domestic equivalents to European Maritime Safety Agency information systems which the Maritime and Coastguard Agency currently uses to carry out its regulatory responsibilities.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The government is confident that we can agree a deep and special partnership with the EU. However, a responsible government should prepare for all potential outcomes, including the unlikely scenario in which no mutually satisfactory agreement can be reached. The Department has worked closely with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) to understand the risks we may be exposed to under a “no deal” scenario. We have also considered the cost and resource requirements associated with mitigating these risks, including cost and resource requirements associated with delivering domestic equivalents to EMSA’s systems. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency is now working to deliver these domestic equivalent systems and we are confident these can be in place by exit day.

Transport: Staff

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many staff in (a) his Department, (b) other Government departments, (c) executive agencies and (d) external bodies have worked on (i) aviation, (ii) roads, (ii) rail and (iv) maritime issues arising from the UK’s departure from the European Union since July 2016.

Chris Grayling: Since the UK EU membership referendum in 2016, the Department for Transport has been proactively engaged in an ongoing process to assess its resourcing needs and to ensure it has sufficient capability to successfully deliver EU Exit. Within the Department, the International and Regulatory Reform Directorate lead on providing advice to Ministers on EU Exit and exit-related transport issues, while other members of staff, who principally lead on different departmental priorities, also deliver advice and analysis as required. Given the diverse interactions between EU Exit work and other priorities and the continuous review of business resourcing needs, it is difficult to define, segregate, or break-down total EU Exit resource in the Department and its executive agencies. However, as detailed in the National Audit Office’s recent report “Implementing the UK’s Exit from the European Union: Department for Transport”, published on 19th July 2018, at present, the central Department has 84 full-time equivalent staff who work solely on EU Exit and are in the process of recruiting 52.5 more staff to provide further support. The Department works closely with other Government departments to ensure a coordinated EU Exit. However, unfortunately, the Department does not hold information on the EU Exit resourcing of other Government departments or external bodies regarding transport related EU Exit work.

Shipping: Conditions of Employment

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport,  what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on the role of Border Force officials in promoting seafarers’ rights on foreign registered vessels regularly working on routes from or between UK ports.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: I have had no recent discussions with the Home Office on this matter. I meet regularly with my Ministerial colleagues to discuss Maritime matters but have not discussed this matter. Officials of this Department and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency have regular dialogue with relevant policy and enforcement teams at other Departments in regard seafarers’ rights.

Port State Control

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many vessels were detained in UK ports after port state control inspection by Maritime and Coastguard Agency officials in each year since 2015; and if he will list the five most common grounds for detention in each of those years.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The number of vessels detained in UK ports after port state control inspections by Maritime and Coastguard Agency officials in each year since 2015 is shown below: YearDetentions201541201640201740 The five most common grounds for detention is neither analysed nor published by the Paris Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for Member States. Information about the common grounds for detention is not readily available in the format requested. However, the Paris MoU does publish the most common deficiencies, which may singularly or as a combination prompt the detention of a vessel. The five most common deficiencies across the Paris MoU are shown below: YearDeficiency relating to:2015International Safety Management code Fire doors/openings in fire-resisting divisions Nautical publications Charts Oil record book2016International Safety Management code Fire doors/openings in fire-resisting divisions Nautical publications Charts Oil record book2017International Safety Management code Fire doors/openings in fire-resisting divisions Nautical publications Charts Voyage or passage plan

Motorways

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has undertaken an impact assessment of the risks associated with the roll-out smart motorways.

Jesse Norman: In each case Highways England complete a full assessment of safety issues during the project design phase, and then monitor and evaluate performance after delivery, to ensure that smart motorways maintain the high levels of safety seen on existing traditional motorways. Highways England have also completed operational safety assessments across their current live smart motorways. These show that smart motorways are meeting their safety objectives and are maintaining the high levels of safety achieved prior to their introduction.

London North Eastern Railway

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 17 July 2018 to Question 163590 on London North Eastern Railway, what other advertising campaigns have been undertaken for the LNER branding; and if he will list the (a) locations of such advertising and (b) expenditure for each such location.

Joseph Johnson: Marketing activities in connection with the London North Eastern Railway brand awareness campaign prior to 24 June 2018 took place in the majority of locations and communities that are served by the East Coast Main Line. These included poster, radio, national and regional press advertising as well as advertising on buses. Due to the nature of the contracts let with third party suppliers of advertising space a breakdown of costs by location is not available.

Network Rail

Mr John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with Network Rail on its vegetation management plan.

Joseph Johnson: The Department has commissioned an independent review to look at Network Rail’s approach to vegetation management in England and Wales. This will include an appraisal of all aspects of Network Rail’s strategy, as applied to route management plans across the network. The appointment of John Varley, as Chair of the review, was announced by the Department on the 12 July.The vegetation management review, which has now commenced, will be engaging with a range of stakeholders over the coming months, including Network Rail, and will report back to the Department in early autumn.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Hydrogen: Carbon Capture and Storage

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what his policy is on the role of carbon capture and storage in (a) the Cadent’s HyNet project and (b) other large-scale hydrogen projects.

Claire Perry: The Government’s new approach to carbon capture, usage & storage (CCUS), set out in the Clean Growth Strategy, highlighted the potential role CCUS has in decarbonising the UK’s economy, including by enabling the low carbon production of hydrogen, reducing emissions from industry and helping to cut the carbon impact of gas.The CCUS Cost Challenge Taskforce report, published on 19 July 2018, emphasised the value that CCUS can provide across the economy, including enabling “low carbon industrial products, decarbonised electricity and gas, a hydrogen economy, greenhouse gas removal, and new industries based around utilising CO2”. Furthermore, the Taskforce highlighted a number of possible CCUS clusters and projects across the UK, including Hynet and other hydrogen projects.BEIS officials are in regular contact with a range of CCUS projects, including the Hynet project. The report is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/delivering-clean-growth-ccus-cost-challenge-taskforce-report

Hydrogen: Motor Vehicles

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the Government’s plans are for the roll-out of hydrogen vehicle refuelling infrastructure.

Richard Harrington: We are moving in step with international progress on standards and technology on hydrogen as a transport fuel, ensuring that the UK retains its position at the forefront of the adoption of zero emission vehicle technologies. The Government’s approach is to align deployment of Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles with the appropriate infrastructure investments to ensure refuelling stations have a significant level of usage. Healthy levels of station utilisation should create levels of revenue that will encourage private sector investment in expanding the network. Government is providing funding to grow the number of hydrogen refuelling stations from the current twelve and to increase the uptake of fuel cell electric vehicles. The £23m Hydrogen for Transport Programme is providing support out until 2020. The first phase of the programme will see four new HRSs being built, upgrades to five existing stations and the deployment of 193 FCEVs.

Hydrogen: EU Grants and Loans

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the Government plans to allocate funds to replace EU funding of (a) the Orkney Surf n Turf project and (b) other such hydrogen power schemes after the UK leaves the EU.

Claire Perry: As set out in the Joint Report and reflected in the text of the draft Withdrawal Agreement, the UK and EU fully intend UK entities’ eligibility in Horizon 2020 to remain unchanged for the duration of the programme.In the unlikely event that the Withdrawal Agreement is not ratified, the Government’s underwrite guarantee of Horizon 2020 funding remains in place, giving further assurance to businesses and universities. The underwrite guarantee includes cover for those projects that are ongoing at the point of exit, as well as those only informed of their success or sign a grant agreement after the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.Beyond 2020, the UK is committed to establishing a far-reaching science and innovation accord with the EU, facilitating the exchange of ideas and researchers, and enabling the UK to participate in key programmes alongside our EU partners. As part of this, the UK wishes to explore association to specific EU research and innovation programmes, such as Horizon Europe.We are also exploring the potential role of hydrogen in our future energy system including the Government’s role in providing support.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Staff

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many officials in his and the predecessor Department worked on the Government’s national minimum wage application and enforcement policies in each year from 2010-11 to 2017-18; and what the current staffing level of that policy area is.

Richard Harrington: The number of departmental officials who work on either National Minimum Wage policy or on enforcement policy has been approximately ten full time equivalent (FTE) members of staff in each of the years from 2010-11 to 2017-18. This an estimated figure based on the average across the calendar year. Furthermore, we are committed to cracking down on employers who break the National Minimum Wage law. This is why this Government continues to invest heavily in minimum wage enforcement, increasing the budget to £26.3 million for 2018/19, up from £13 million in 2015/16.

EU Countries: Boats

Mr Gary Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that recreational boaters whose craft have Union Goods status retain that status after the UK leaves the EU.

Richard Harrington: Craft used by recreational boaters are currently regulated by the EU Directive on recreational craft and personal watercraft. In the White Paper published on 12th July, the Government set out its ambition for a future economic partnership with the EU, which includes a proposal for a UK-EU free trade area underpinned by a common rulebook on industrial goods. This would cover those rules necessary to provide for frictionless trade at the border and would be supported by arrangements covering all relevant compliance activity necessary for products to be sold in the UK and EU markets. Our proposal would allow UK goods, including recreational craft, to move freely between the UK and EU markets. We must all now move at pace to negotiate our proposal to deliver the prosperous and secure future all our citizens deserve.

Global Navigation Satellite Systems: Finance

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 16 July 2018 to Question 162553, which Department will provide funding for the proposed £3-5 billion domestic satellite navigation system; and whether that funding will be taken from money that has already been allocated in the Budget.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Holding answer received on 23 July 2018



The Government has made clear its wish to negotiate a continued deep participation in the Galileo programme. In May, my rt. hon. Friend the Prime Minister ordered that a GNSS taskforce deliver a detailed assessment of UK GNSS options in the event that we do not reach a satisfactory agreement on the Galileo programme to provide resilience to UK users as stated in the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015. No departmental funding has been allocated for the full GNSS capability and the scoping phase of work will need to be completed before any decision can be taken on whether to proceed.

Chevron Petroleum: North Sea

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many contractor staff are employed on the (a) Alba, (b) Alder, (c) Captain, (d) Elgin/Franklin, (e) Erskine, (f) Jade and (g) Britannia platforms in the Central North Sea.

Claire Perry: The Government does not hold information on how many contractor staff are employed in the above fields. Figures from Oil and Gas UK’s Workforce Report 2017 (page 7) (https://oilandgasuk.co.uk/product/workforce-report-2017/) indicate that around 40,000 contracted staff travelled offshore in 2016, the most recent year for which figures are provided.

Chevron Petroleum: North Sea

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many directly employed staff are working on the (a) Alba, (b) Alder, (c) Captain, (d) Elgin/Franklin, (e) Erskine, (f) Jade and (g) Britannia platforms in the Central North Sea.

Claire Perry: The Government does not hold information on how many staff are directly employed in the above fields. Figures from Oil and Gas UK’s Workforce Report 2017 (page 7) (https://oilandgasuk.co.uk/product/workforce-report-2017/) indicate that around 10,000 personnel working for operators travelled offshore in 2016, the most recent year for which figures are provided.

Offshore Industry: North Sea

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to page 10 of the UKCS Decommissioning - 2018 Cost Estimate Report published by the Oil and Gas Authority in June 2018, if he will make an updated estimate of the total cost of onshore recycling and disposal of decommissioned offshore infrastructure from the Central North Sea.

Claire Perry: The Oil and Gas Authority have reported that there is an error in the graph on page 10 of the UKCS Decommissioning – 2018 Cost Estimate Report, and have confirmed that the cost of onshore recycling and disposal of decommissioned infrastructure from Central North Sea is around £3bn.

Offshore Industry: Continental Shelf

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the UKCS Decommissioning - 2018 Cost Estimate Report published by the Oil and Gas Authority in June 2018, what his latest estimate is of employment levels in the offshore decommissioning industry in each year from 2018 to 2025.

Claire Perry: The Department does not have details of the employment levels associated with decommissioning. However, forecasts from industry suggest that the annual expenditure for decommissioning over the next five years will be in the region of £1.7bn to £2bn, offering significant employment opportunities in the supply chain that will deliver the constituent elements of the decommissioning activity.

Digital Technology: South Yorkshire

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 3 July 2018 to Question 158755 on Digital Technology: South Yorkshire, how much of that British Business Bank funding has been allocated to South Yorkshire.

Richard Harrington: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Offshore Industry: North Sea

Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what his Department's latest estimate is of the remaining recoverable oil and gas deposits under the (a) North, (b) Central and (c) Southern North Sea.

Claire Perry: The Government created the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) to regulate, influence and promote the UK oil and gas industry in order to maximise the economic recovery of the UK’s oil and gas resources.The OGA’s “UK Oil and Gas: Reserves and Resources” report estimates that overall remaining recoverable hydrocarbon resources ranged between 10 and 20 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe) as at the end of 2016. The report may be found at:https://www.ogauthority.co.uk/data-centre/data-downloads-and-publications/reserves-and-resources/.

Offshore Industry: North Sea

Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the level of (a) exploration and (b) drilling activity in the North Sea since January 2017.

Claire Perry: The Government created the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) to regulate, influence and promote the UK oil and gas industry in order to maximise the economic recovery of the UK’s oil and gas resources. The OGA publishes data on levels of exploration and other drilling in the UK North Sea. These can be found online at: https://www.ogauthority.co.uk/data-centre/data-downloads-and-publications/well-data/

Offshore Industry: Continental Shelf

Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will publish the (a) public and (b) private sources of funding for the  21st Century Exploration Roadmap Palaeozoic Project undertaken by the Oil and Gas Authority and British Geological Survey between November 2014 and May 2016.

Claire Perry: The 21st Century Exploration Roadmap Palaeozoic Project was co-funded by Government and industry. Oil and Gas UK and 49 operators contributed £685,000 to the £1.32m project, with Government funding the remainder.

Offshore Industry: Continental Shelf

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the UKCS Decommissioning 2018 Cost Estimate Report by the Oil and Gas Authority, what assessment he has made of trends in the cost of labour associated with decommissioning projects.

Claire Perry: The Department does not have details on the cost of labour associated with decommissioning projects nor trends in the cost. However, the recent report by the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) indicates that operators are making progress to reduce costs, with some reporting significant cost reductions in platform running costs, platform well plugging and abandonment costs and removal costs. The OGA is working with industry to support further cost reductions to achieve delivery of the £39bn target cost for decommissioning and is developing cost benchmarks that will enable trend analysis of decommissioning costs over time.https://www.ogauthority.co.uk/media/4925/decommissioning-cost-report-2018.pdf

EU Grants and Loans

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much each nation and region of the UK received per capita in EU structural funding for the (a) 2007-13 and (b) 2014-2020 reporting periods.

Kelly Tolhurst: (a) In the 2007-13 period, the UK was allocated the following amount from EU Structural Funds: Total allocationEquivalent per capita allocationEngland£4,344m£84.5Scotland£557m£107.8Northern Ireland£321m£182.5Wales£1,509m£502.2 (b) In the 2014-20 period, the UK was allocated the following amounts from EU Structural Funds: Total allocationEquivalent per capita allocationEngland£5,410m£99.6Scotland£698m£130.5Northern Ireland£400m£217.4Wales£1,881m£608.5 The level of support for each nation and region depends on its position in relation to the average GDP per capita of all EU member states. Population data used derived from ONS Population estimates for 2007 and 2014. The foreign exchange rates used were the ones valid at the time of the allocations, i.e. €1=£0.68 for 2007 and €1=£0.78 for 2014.

Asda: Sainsbury's

Mr John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 5 July 2018 to Question 158768, whether his letter to the Competition and Markets Authority expressed the view that the assessment of the proposed merger of ASDA and Sainsbury's must also consider the potential effect of that merger on the high street.

Kelly Tolhurst: My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State’s letter and the Competition and Markets Authority’s reply are available on: https://www.gov.uk/cma-cases/j-sainsbury-plc-asda-group-ltd-merger-inquiry

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Israel: Palestinians

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what information his Department holds on instances of Israeli authorities using equipment from UK-based companies in demolishing or assisting with demolishing structures in the West Bank.

Alistair Burt: ​The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is aware of media reports that highlight possible instances of Israeli authorities using equipment from UK-based companies to demolish or assist with demolishing structures in the West Bank. We continue to raise concerns with the Israeli authorities about demolitions and evictions of Palestinians from their homes, which cause unnecessary suffering to ordinary Palestinians, calls into question Israel’s commitment to a viable two-state solution, and, in all but the most exceptional cases, are contrary to International Humanitarian Law. The Government is fully committed to the promotion of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, to and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Guidelines, and to encouraging and fostering respect for human rights among UK business. Where a company decides to trade is a decision for each company taking account of the legal and regulatory environment, including international human rights law.

Catalonia: Sovereignty

Marion Fellows: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to his Spanish counterpart on an independence referendum for Catalonia.

Sir Alan Duncan: Holding answer received on 23 July 2018



The issue of Catalan independence is a matter for Spain.

Bridges: English Channel

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the oral contribution of the then Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of 20 February 2018, Official Report, column 5, whether it is his Department's policy to explore the possibility of a new fixed link between Great Britain and France.

Sir Alan Duncan: Holding answer received on 23 July 2018



This is a matter for the Department of Transport.

France: Foreign Relations

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answers of 6 March 2018 and 8 March 2018 to Questions 130582 and 130801 on France: Foreign relations, what progress has been made in establishing the committee of wise people to explore future UK-French collaboration.

Sir Alan Duncan: Holding answer received on 23 July 2018



I refer the Hon. Member to my response to PQ 130582; we continue productive discussions with our French colleagues on the terms of reference and membership of the Group and hope to hold its first meeting soon.

Colombia: Human Rights

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will respond to Early Day Motion 1492, on human rights in Colombia.

Sir Alan Duncan: ​Human rights defenders and social leaders play a vital role in promoting the rights of local communities and minority groups in Colombia, and in helping to realise the benefits of the historic peace agreement. I am concerned by reports of increasing violence and killings of human rights defenders and social leaders, something I have discussed with Colombian Ministers and the Colombian Ambassador. The FCO supports the important work of human rights defenders globally, including through our advocacy and project work.

Nicaragua: Politics and Government

Tommy Sheppard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent steps the Government has taken to promote UN efforts to resolve the political crisis in Nicaragua.

Sir Alan Duncan: The UK has welcomed the Nicaraguan Government’s invitations to the UN and other investigatory bodies and has called for the authorities to allow them to carry out their work fully without hindrance. I am pleased the EU is ready to accompany and support the Dialogue and has reinforced its support to human rights organisations.

Israel: Politics and Government

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Israeli Government on the (a) passage of the Nation State Law by the Israeli Knesset and (b) implications of that law on the rights and status of minority groups.

Alistair Burt: ​The Nation-State Bill has passed through the Knesset into law. The final wording of the legislation did not contain the clause which would have explicitly allowed a community composed of people of the same faith or nationality to maintain an exclusive community. As part of their regular diplomatic work with Israeli authorities and legislators, British diplomats in Israel discussed the (Nation-State Bill) alongside other legislation and developments. Israel's long standing commitment to equality for all its citizens is one of its great strengths as a fellow democracy. As friends of Israel we would be concerned about any development that would undermine this commitment

Israel: Palestinians

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the distribution of land allocations between settlers and Palestinians in the West Bank.

Alistair Burt: ​The UK considers all Israeli settlements in the West Bank to be illegal under international law, and a barrier to a two-state solution.

Burma: Armed Forces

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will put forward a resolution to the United Nations Security Council calling for an investigation into the activities of the Myanmar military.

Mark Field: In 2017 the UK co-sponsored the resolution at the UN Human Rights Council which set up a Fact Finding Mission to look into the human rights situation in Burma, including violations by the military. Its interim report of March 2018 confirmed the Burmese military was primarily to blame for the widespread and systematic violence against the Rohingya in Rakhine during August and September 2017. We await its final report in September 2018. UK work in the UN Security Council ensured it called on the Burmese authorities to hold those responsible to account. We will continue to work in the Council to ensure it remains focused on the Rohingya crisis and will cntinue to consider how best to use the various tools, inclusing resolutions, at the Council's disposal.

Krishna Maharaj

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions his Department has had with US officials on the status of British prisoner Kris Maharaj.

Sir Alan Duncan: We continue to register our strong interest in Mr Maharaj's case with the US authorities, most recently with the filing of an amicus curiae brief. Mr Maharaj's discovery motions were denied by the Magistrate Judge on 30 April 2018. His legal team must now consider the options available to them. Consular staff last visited Mr Maharaj on 8 June 2018.

Occupied Territories: Foreign Nationals

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has received representations on allegations of the Israeli Government's refusal to grant residency permits and visas to foreign nationals who have made their home and livelihood in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Alistair Burt: ​We have not received any representations on this issue.

Libya: Crimes Against Humanity

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the International Criminal Court on the investigation of people implicated in possible crimes against humanity against the Tawergha community.

Alistair Burt: ​The UK continues to make representations to Libyan interlocutors about complying with International Criminal Court (ICC) requests and about Libya's human rights record more broadly. As one of a few countries with a diplomatic presence in Libya, we are occasionally called on by the ICC to provide information about events unfolding on the ground.It would not be appropriate for us to discuss with ICC officials the substance of the Prosecutor's investigations; the UK is committed to the independence and impartiality of the International Criminal Court.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Official Residences

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, on what date Right hon Member for Uxbridge vacated the grace and favour apartments he occupied as Foreign Secretary.

Alistair Burt: ​Former Ministers are expected to leave official residences as quickly as practicable at the end of their tenure, taking into account their personal circumstances and family requirements. The former Foreign Secretary will do so by the end of July. There is no additional cost to the taxpayer involved.

Department of Health and Social Care

Brain: Tumours

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish how the Government allocates new funding for (a) the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Research Mission and (b) other brain tumour research.

Caroline Dinenage: The Department’s funding for all brain tumour research will be invested through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The NIHR focusses on supporting health and care research, and translating discoveries into practical products, treatments, devices and procedures. Applications to the NIHR for research funding are subject to scientific peer review, with awards being made on the basis of value for money, scientific quality and the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services. Details on the NIHR’s general assessment criteria can be found at the following link: https://www.nihr.ac.uk/funding-and-support/documents/funding-for-research-studies/how-to-apply/general-assessment-criteria.pdf We are relying on researchers to submit high-quality research proposals in this very difficult area. To encourage such applications we have released an NIHR Highlight Notice on brain tumour research asking research teams to submit collaborative applications building on recent initiatives and investments. We are also working closely with research funding partners such as Cancer Research UK, the Medical Research Council, and brain tumour charities, who fund research into new scientific discoveries. We stand ready to translate these new discoveries as quickly as possible into new treatments and diagnostics for patients via the NIHR.

Cervical Cancer: Lincolnshire

Karen Lee: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of trends in the average time that patients waited to receive cervical screening results in Lincolnshire in each of the last three years.

Steve Brine: No assessment has been made of trends in the average time that patients waited to receive cervical screening results. The NHS Cervical Screening Programme has a quality measure referred to as cervical screening turnaround time. This is a quality measure which recommends that the optimal turnaround time for which a woman should receive her screening result in writing is 14 days from the date the sample is taken. This data is provided monthly and is shared with the cervical screening programme boards and NHS England commissioners that oversee services so that performance and trends can be monitored locally.

Obesity

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will support the research into whether obesity should be classified as a disease including the possible consequences of such a classification on NHS commissioning and other services.

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his policy is on implementation of Chapter 2 of the Government's childhood obesity plan.

Steve Brine: There are no current plans for the Department to classify obesity as a disease. We will be launching the seven consultations announced in ‘Childhood obesity: a plan for action, chapter 2’ before the end of 2018. We will consider all responses to the consultations before setting out the next steps. ‘Childhood obesity: a plan for action, chapter 2’ is available at the following link: www.gov.uk/government/publications/childhood-obesity-a-plan-for-action-chapter-2

NHS: Drugs

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the  Office for Life Sciences Competitiveness Indicators, published in May 2018, what assessment his Department has made of the fall in the uptake of NICE-approved medicines.

Caroline Dinenage: The Competitiveness Indicators published by the Office for Life Sciences show that the relative uptake rates of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)-approved medicines have remained broadly stable over the last five years, with an increase in the overall level of uptake in the first year after release being offset by a slight fall in the fourth and fifth years. There are a number of reasons why the levels of uptake may vary including changes in the reported basket of medicines, and country level differences in disease burden and clinical practice. In addition to the Competitiveness Indicators, NHS Digital publishes a report on the use of medicines by the National Health Service in England, known as the Innovation Scorecard. The latest publication from July 2018 shows that 71% of NICE-approved medicines had higher levels of uptake than in the previous 12 months. The Innovation scorecard is available at the following link: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nice-technology-appraisals-in-the-nhs-in-england-innovation-scorecard/nice-technology-appraisals-in-the-nhs-in-england-innovation-scorecard-to-december-2017

NHS: Drugs

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Office for Life Sciences Competitiveness Indicators published in May 2018, what the reasons are for the reduction in the basic pharmaceuticals and pharmaceuticals products workforce between 2012 and 2016.

Caroline Dinenage: The Competitiveness Indicators published by the Office for Life Sciences show that the number of people employed in the sector in the United Kingdom and other countries has fluctuated from year to year between 2007 and 2016. The figures published in this report are based on those collected by Eurostat which, in order to allow a consistent comparison between countries over time, do not capture the whole of the life sciences sector as it has evolved in recent years. The Government therefore commissions an additional ‘Strength and Opportunity’ report each year to collect more comprehensive figures on employment across the whole of the life sciences sector. The latest report published shows that employment rose from 113,400 in 2016 to 119,000 in 2017. The ‘Strength and Opportunity’ report is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/bioscience-and-health-technology-database-annual-report-2017

Out-patients: Attendance

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to raise awareness of the effect on the public purse of non-attendance for hospital appointments.

Stephen Barclay: The NHS Constitution for England emphasises patients’ responsibilities including making it clear that “You should keep appointments, or cancel within reasonable time”. As part of the NHS 70 celebrations, NHS England is encouraging people to show their support for the National Health Service in seven ways, including a pledge to ‘use NHS services wisely’ which includes attending NHS appointments. More information is available on the NHS 70 website at the following link:www.nhs70.nhs.uk/pledge

Mental Health Services: Veterans

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on armed forces veterans of the removal NHS England funding for the Combat Stress programme.

Jackie Doyle-Price: There have been a number of improvements and developments in the provision of veterans’ mental health services across England, with the launch of the NHS Veterans’ Mental Health Transition, Intervention and Liaison Service in 2017 and the launch of the Veterans’ Mental Health Complex Treatment Service in April 2018. These two services are the result of a programme of work that reviewed veterans’ mental health services and proactively sought the views of veterans and their families through a national engagement.

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the annual cost to the NHS of treating alchohol-related conditions; and what steps he is taking to reduce that cost.

Steve Brine: Data on National Health Service spending on treatment of alcohol related conditions is not collected centrally. However, the costs to the NHS in England associated with alcohol misuse are estimated at £3.5 billion each year. The Government is committed to addressing the health harms relating to alcohol abuse. In 2016, the UK Chief Medical Officers (CMOs) published low risk drinking guidelines to provide the public with the most up to date scientific information to help people make informed decisions about their own drinking. These are available at the following link: www.gov.uk/government/publications/alcohol-consumption-advice-on-low-risk-drinking The drinking guidelines are included in a range of public health messaging, including Public Health England’s (PHE’s) ‘One You’ campaigns and on the ‘NHS Choices’ website to encourage the public to drink within the CMOs’ guidelines. Local authorities are responsible for commissioning effective alcohol prevention and treatment services based on an assessment of local need, and they are supported by PHE in this work by providing data, value for money tools, topical briefings, and advice on good practice to help local authorities meet the needs of their local population. The Government is also developing a new alcohol strategy which will allow us to consider the changing landscape of alcohol use and to target vulnerable people who need support most with effective, evidence-based interventions.

Brain: Tumours

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve co-operation throughout the health sector to improve research on brain tumours.

Caroline Dinenage: On 14 May the Government announced £40 million over the next five years for brain tumour research as part of the Dame Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission. A key element within this Mission is to improve cooperation throughout the health sector to improve brain tumour research. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Lord O’Shaughnessy) has been chairing the Steering Group for the Mission to ensure maximal impact. The Steering Group met for the second time on 13 June, and appointed Professor Richard Gilbertson from Cambridge as Interim Chair. Lord O’Shaughnessy has a keen interest in this work, and is continuing to be very closely involved. Professor Gilbertson will move the Group towards a longer term, sustainable structure for the Brain Cancer Mission. It is anticipated that a final structure will be in place in 2019. The Group’s next meeting is planned for the end of July.

Brain: Tumours

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how the Government plans to assess the (a) value for money and (b) use of the allocation of new government funds for brain tumour research.

Caroline Dinenage: On 14 May the Government announced £40 million over the next five years for brain tumour research as part of the Dame Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission. Funding will be invested through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). We are relying on researchers to submit high-quality research proposals in this very difficult area. To encourage such applications we have released a NIHR Highlight Notice on brain tumour research asking research teams to submit collaborative applications building on recent initiatives and investments. We are also working closely with research funding partners such as Cancer Research UK, the Medical Research Council, and brain tumour charities, who fund research into new scientific discoveries. We stand ready to translate these new discoveries as quickly as possible into new treatments and diagnostics for patients via the NIHR. Applications to the NIHR for research funding are subject to scientific peer review, with awards being made on the basis of value for money, scientific quality and the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services.

Lyme Disease

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 4 July 2018 to Question 159060 on the systematic reviews on the diagnosis, treatment, transmission and prevention of Lyme disease, if his Department will publish a response to those reviews identifying which of the recommendations of those reviews the Government is taking forward; what steps the Government is taking to implement those recommendations; and what the timetable is for the implementation of those recommendations.

Caroline Dinenage: The Department commissioned four independent separate systematic reviews of all relevant literature on the diagnosis, treatment, transmission and prevention of Lyme disease. The four systematic reviews were completed and published in December 2017 which assessed the existing evidence. They do not make recommendations and the Department is not planning to publish a response. The Department is aware of the findings which were intended to clarify the existing evidence base on Lyme disease and are publicly available to the research community, all research funders and the public. We are investing over £1 billion a year in health research through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The usual practice of the NIHR is not to ring-fence funds for expenditure on particular topics: research proposals in all areas compete for the funding available. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research on Lyme disease including those that reflect the conclusions of the systematic reviews as part of its regular processes. All applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality.

Statins

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will commission research into the relative health and longevity of people who have been taking statins for 10 years compared as against people with similar characteristics who have not taken statins.

Caroline Dinenage: The Department funds research through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), which has a broad portfolio of research into cardiovascular disease, including reducing risk factors through medication. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health. It is not usual practice to ring-fence funds for particular topics or conditions. Applications for funding are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality.

Brain: Tumours

Derek Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the Government response to the publication of the Department of Health and Social Care Task and Finish Working Group report into brain tumour research is planned to be published.

Derek Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of the recommendations of the Department of Health and Social Care Task and Finish Working Group report on brain tumour research, published in February 2018; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Dinenage: All of the recommendations of the Task and Finish Working Group on Brain Tumour Research have been embraced within the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission. The parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Lord O’Shaughnessy) has been chairing the Steering Group for the Mission to ensure maximal impact. The Steering Group met for the second time on 13 June, and appointed Professor Richard Gilbertson from Cambridge as Interim Chair. Lord O’Shaughnessy has a keen interest in this work, and is continuing to be very closely involved. Professor Gilbertson will move the Group towards a longer term, sustainable structure for the Brain Cancer Mission. It is anticipated that a final structure will be in place in 2019. The Group’s next meeting is planned for the end of July.

Brain: Tumours

Derek Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Government has plans to take the recommendations of the Department of Health and Social Care Task and Finish Working Group report on brain tumour research, published in February 2018, into consideration when allocating budgets for brain tumour research; and what plans he has to allocate money for brain tumour research.

Caroline Dinenage: On 14 May the Government announced £40 million over the next five years for brain tumour research as part of the Dame Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission. Funding will be invested through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). We are relying on researchers to submit high-quality research proposals in this very difficult area. To encourage such applications we have released a NIHR Highlight Notice on brain tumour research asking research teams to submit collaborative applications building on recent initiatives and investments including the recommendations of the Task and Finish Working Group on Brain Tumour Research. We are also working closely with research funding partners such as Cancer Research UK, the Medical Research Council, and brain tumour charities, who fund research into new scientific discoveries. We stand ready to translate these new discoveries as quickly as possible into new treatments and diagnostics for patients via the NIHR. Applications to the NIHR for research funding are subject to scientific peer review, with awards being made on the basis of value for money, scientific quality and the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services.

Mental Health Services

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the availability and waiting times for therapeutic services for mental health conditions in (a) the UK and (b) Birmingham.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Government is committed to reducing waiting times for mental health therapies across England. Performance against Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) waiting time standards continues to improve and we are consistently exceeding the targets. According to the latest data from April 2018, 98.9% of those people completing treatment waited less than 18 weeks for their treatment to start in England against a target of 95%, and 89.4% of people completing treatment waited less than six weeks against a target of 75%. By 2020/21, we have set a target that at least 25% of adults with common mental health conditions will access IAPT services each year. Updates on clinical commissioning group (CCG) performance against waiting times and access targets, including for Birmingham CCGs, are published on the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health Dashboard. Source: https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/mental-health-five-year-forward-view-dashboard/

Infant Foods

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure the safety of infant formula.

Steve Brine: The manufacture of powdered infant formula and formula foods in the United Kingdom is comprehensively regulated by European Union legislation. Manufacturers must comply with requirements covering product safety as well as composition and nutritional appropriateness. Manufacturers of these products in the UK are inspected on a routine basis by local authorities to monitor compliance. Manufacturers must inform the relevant authorities if unsafe products are placed on the market. Risk management processes exist within manufacturers and relevant authorities to remove products and investigate incidents.

Lung Diseases: Mortality Rates

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of progress in reducing mortality rates for lung disease over the last 10 years.

Steve Brine: Between 2006 and 2015 there was a large decrease in the mortality rate for lung disease for male patients. The mortality rate was 85.9 in 2006, and the latest available comparable rate, for 2016, is 68.9. The mortality rate has also decreased for female patients between 2006 and 2016. It was 48 in 2006, and the latest comparable rate is 47.1 in 2015. The evolution of mortality rates has led to an increase in the survival rate for individuals with lung disease. The national lung cancer audit shows an improvement in one-year survival rates and other improvements in care. One-year survival of lung cancer patients reached an all-time high for patients diagnosed in 2015, with 40.7. In addition, Office for National Statistics figures show a reduction in asthma deaths under 65 over the last 15 years and the Manchester Healthy Lung screening pilot showed enhanced detection of early stage curable lung cancers and other lung problems.

Health Services

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure the equity of access to treatment of (a) physical and (b) mental health services in England.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Government enshrined parity of esteem for physical and mental health in law in the Health and Social Care Act 2012. The NHS Constitution now states that the National Health Service “is designed to improve, prevent, diagnose and treat both physical and mental health problems with equal regard”. The Department is investing in mental health to expand and improve services as set out in the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health. Spending on mental health has increased to a planned £11.86 billion in 2017/18. NHS England’s Mental Health Investment Standard requires NHS clinical commissioning groups to increase mental health investment by the same proportion or greater as for their overall allocations. The Government’s mandate to NHS England for 2018-19, states that clinical commissioning groups, should show “measurable progress towards the parity of esteem for mental health enshrined in the NHS Constitution, particularly for those in vulnerable situations”. The Government has also introduced the first waiting times standards for mental health, following those which have been long established for physical health care.

Suicide

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to reduce the incidence of suicide over the next five years.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Suicide prevention is a priority for this Government which is why we updated the National Suicide Prevention Strategy last year to strengthen its key areas for action. The Department continues to work with departments across Government, arm’s length bodies, the National Health Service, local authorities and other stakeholders, including the voluntary and charitable sector, to implement the Strategy’s key areas for action. The Department publishes regular progress reports on the implementation of the Strategy. The Five Year Forward View for Mental Health set out clear recommendations on suicide prevention and reduction, and made a commitment to reduce suicides by 10% nationally by 2020/21. Most local authorities now have a multi-agency suicide prevention plan in place to support this ambition, and this work is being supported by £25 million investment in suicide prevention. On 16 May 2018, the Department, Public Health England and NHS England announced the first local areas that will receive funding from the £25 million, to further develop the suicide prevention plans, which will have reached the whole of the country by 2020/21. The former Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (the Rt. hon. Jeremy Hunt) announced a zero suicide ambition for the NHS, starting with mental health inpatients, in January. Every NHS mental health provider is required to put in place a zero suicide policy during 2018/19.

Lung Diseases

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effect of socio-economic status on the incidence of lung disease.

Steve Brine: The National Health Service is committed to reducing health inequalities in all areas of healthcare, including respiratory diseases. The most recent outcomes framework figures from NHS Digital show a rise in respiratory mortality for the poorest decile and an improvement in the most affluent decile. Poor quality housing is risk factor for lung disease and lung disease is strongly linked to social deprivation and health inequalities.

Incinerators: Health Hazards

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the answer of 16 April 2018 to Question 134539 on Incinerators: Health Hazards, whether those papers been submitted for peer review; and when the results are planned to be published.

Steve Brine: Holding answer received on 23 July 2018



The papers from the Small Area Health Statistics Unit project were submitted to peer reviewed journals the week beginning the 16 July, and it is likely to be a few months after submission for the papers to be published.

Department of Health and Social Care: Former Members

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many former hon. Members hold (a) paid and (b) unpaid roles within his Department as of 17 July 2018.

Caroline Dinenage: Nicola Blackwood and Laura Sandys both hold paid roles as the Chair of the Human Tissue Authority and Deputy Chair of the Food Standards Agency, respectively. Both were appointed on merit following open competition, and in line with the Governance Code on Public Appointments. Nicola Blackwood was previously the hon. Member for Oxford West and Abingdon (2010-17) and Laura Sandys was the hon. Member for South Thanet (2010-2015). The Department does not hold central information on the former roles of its employees. All recruitment within the Department is conducted in line with the Civil Service Commissioner’s recruitment principles and all civil servants adhere to the Civil Service code.

General Dental Council

Dr Paul Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the performance of the General Dental Council; and what steps he is taking to hold that body to account.

Stephen Barclay: The General Dental Council (GDC) is the healthcare regulatory body responsible for the regulation of dentists and dental care practitioners in the United Kingdom and is independent of the Government. The Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (PSA) annually reviews each professional regulator’s performance against its Standards of Good Regulation and publishes its findings. The most recent GDC report was published by the PSA in November 2017 and covered the 2016/17 period. It found that the GDC met all but one of the 24 standards of good regulation.

Teenage Pregnancy: Coventry

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of trends in the level of under-age pregnancies among females in social care in Coventry since 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Brine: Public Health England (PHE) has not undertaken an assessment of the trends in the level of under-age pregnancies among females in social care in Coventry since 2010. PHE’s Teenage Pregnancy Prevention Framework reports that young people who are looked after are three times more likely to be a parent by 18. Further information and recommendations regarding targeted prevention work with this cohort is available at the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/708932/teenage_pregnancy_prevention_framework.pdf The needs of looked-after children and care leavers are also highlighted in the PHE support framework for teenage mothers and young fathers, which is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teenage-mothers-and-young-fathers-support-framework

Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps are being taken to improve (a) diagnosis, (b) awareness and (c) treatment of Ehlers-Danios Syndrome.

Steve Brine: NHS England commissions services for patients who have Ehlers Danlos syndrome (EDS) from specialist rheumatology centres. A highly specialised EDS service is in place to diagnose difficult and complex EDS cases at two centres in England; London North West University Healthcare Trust and Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust. NHS England’s Service Specification for Complex EDS can be found on its website. EDS is included in the 100,000 Genomes Project. The National Congenital Anomaly and Rare Disease Registration Service provides a resource for clinicians to support high quality clinical practice and supports all research into rare diseases. Steps to increase public awareness of rare diseases such as EDS are being taken through the implementation of the United Kingdom Strategy for Rare Diseases.

Diseases

Gavin Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, who will represent the Government at the UN high level meeting on non-communicable diseases in September; and what the Government's expected outcomes for that meeting are.

Gavin Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to prepare for the UN high level meeting on non-communicable diseases in September.

Steve Brine: The Government is committed to addressing non-communicable diseases (NCDs). A United Kingdom Government delegation is being considered to attend the United Nations high level meeting in September to contribute to the global agenda on NCDs control.

Lyme Disease

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that (a) GPs and (b) other health professionals have adequate training for the early diagnosis of Lyme Disease.

Steve Brine: Public Health England (PHE) hosts regular training sessions for registered medical practitioners and practice nurses. Information for medical professionals is available through the Lyme disease collection pages at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/lyme-disease-guidance-data-and-analysis These will shortly be relaunched with additional content based on the new National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance and links to resources. An e-learning course on Lyme disease hosted by the Royal College of General Practitioners is also available at the following link: http://elearning.rcgp.org.uk/course/info.php?id=164 In April 2018, NICE published a new clinical guideline which provides the latest information for clinicians in diagnosing and managing Lyme disease. It aims to raise awareness of when Lyme disease should be suspected and ensure that people have prompt and consistent diagnosis and treatment. Further information is available at the following link: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng95 All medical education has to meet standards set by the General Medical Council (GMC), which is an independent statutory body. The GMC has the general function of promoting high standards of education and co-ordinating all stages of education to ensure that medical students and newly qualified doctors are equipped with the knowledge, skills and attitudes essential for professional practice.

NHS: Finance

Faisal Rashid: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Departments policies of the conclusion of the Office for Budget Responsibility's Fiscal Sustainability Report that tax rises or budget cuts are necessary to deliver the proposed funding increases for the NHS.

Stephen Barclay: The Prime Minister has announced that the National Health Service budget will grow by over £20 billion a year in real terms by 2023-24. It is now up to NHS leaders to produce a new ten-year plan, led by clinicians, professionals and supported by local health and care systems across the country. The final settlement will be confirmed at a future fiscal event, subject to a plan that delivers the efficiency, productivity, and performance improvements necessary to address the long-term cost pressures highlighted by the Office for Budget Responsibility. As the Prime Minister set out, some of this funding will be paid for by us no longer having to send annual membership subscriptions to the European Union after we have left. The commitment the Government is making goes beyond this, and so the Prime Minister has been clear that taxpayers will have to make a greater contribution, in a fair and balanced way. The Government will listen to views about how we do this and the Chancellor will set out the details in due course.

NHS: Data Protection

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has he made of the financial effect on the NHS of the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Government has not made any assessment of the financial effect on the National Health Service of the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The GDPR came into effect on 25 May, replacing the Data Protection Act 1998. Its provisions form legal obligations that must be observed. The right of access plays a central role in the GDPR. This updates similar provisions, known as Subject Access Requests, that were available within the Data Protection Act 1998, giving individuals the right to obtain a copy of their personal data, including, from a health perspective, copies of medical records. Previously, under the Data Protection Act 1998, organisations were able to make a charge for dealing with the administration required in such a request. Under the GDPR, the ability, in law, to levy such charges has been removed in most cases. This is a blanket requirement of the GDPR, applicable to all businesses and public authorities which was subject to the collective agreement of all European Union member states. There has been no assessment made on the cost of dealing with such requests.

NHS: Data Protection

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the NHS has taken to maintain patient records in a suitable format to reduce the time it takes staff to comply with subject access requests resulting from the General Data Protection Regulation.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Professional bodies emphasise the importance of appropriate knowledge, skills and behaviours in the education and training of health professionals. This includes the accurate recording, maintenance and retrieval of patient records as a key part of providing quality and safe care and to support effective and efficient management of the healthcare system. Employers will also ensure that their employees have undertaken relevant training in information governance and data protection. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into effect on 25 May 2018, replacing the Data Protection Act (DPA) 1998. Its provisions form legal obligations that must be observed. The right of access plays a central role in the GDPR. This updates similar provisions, known as Subject Access Requests, that were available within the DPA 1998. The GDPR provides that the usual time limit for responding to right of access requests (within one month) may be extended by two further months where necessary, taking into account the complexity and the number of the requests and providing an explanation is given to the data subject within a month of receiving the request. NHS Digital holds important patient information, created from general practitioner medical records, in the Summary Care Record system. It can be seen and used by authorised staff in other areas of the health and care system involved in the patient's direct care. This information is already stored in a suitable format and therefore no changes have been required to support timely response to subject access requests.

Acupuncture

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that Clinical Commissioning Groups have adequate funding to maintain the provision of NHS-funded acupuncture services.

Steve Brine: Clinical commissioning group (CCG) funding is determined through the CCG funding allocation formula, a statistical formula used to make geographic distribution of funding fair and reflective of local healthcare needs. CCGs have a statutory responsibility to commission services which meet the needs of their local population, however the National Health Service does not have unlimited resources and CCGs may have to make difficult decisions about commissioning high-quality care cost-effectively. CCGs have the flexibility within the legislative framework to decide how far to commission these functions and have the flexibility to commission any service provider that meets NHS standards and costs.

Colorectal Cancer: Screening

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure the provision of systematic screening for Lynch Syndrome for people diagnosed with bowel cancer in (a) Barnsley, (b) South Yorkshire and (c) Yorkshire.

Steve Brine: In February 2017, testing for Lynch syndrome was recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) as important in identifying genetic predisposition to bowel cancer, which could lead to better outcomes for patients through earlier diagnosis and treatment. The NICE guideline does not carry a funding direction and therefore commissioners, clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and NHS England, need to consider the implementation of the guidance alongside other priorities and any financial impact on pathology services and genetic testing services. Also, the NICE guidance recommends, but does not mandate, how healthcare professionals should apply the guidance to those diagnosed with bowel cancer. Barnsley, alongside other CCGs in the area, currently use a testing service in Leeds. It is not commissioned as it is being provided free of charge as part of a pilot piece of work. Referrals are made where hospital clinicians judge this to be appropriate. However, the Cancer Alliance is looking at future options in the expectation that the free provision in Leeds may stop once the current pilot ends. NHS England will be working with CCG pathology service commissioners during 2018/19 to determine whether they can jointly develop a policy proposition relating to genetic testing for Lynch syndrome that takes into account the NICE guideline and helps to ensure that patients and their families receive the test where appropriate.

Learning Disability: Nurses

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 19 July 2018 to Question 164427 on learning disability: nurses, in what format his Department collects data.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Department collects vacancy data from its arm’s length bodies; NHS Improvement, NHS Digital and Health Education England (HEE). NHS Improvement has published management information vacancy data since April 2017 which is based on vacancies reported by trusts. This information covers the National Health Service trusts as a whole as well as a more granular breakdown for nursing and medics, but this does not go to the level of organisations, every staff group, or in particular learning disability nurses. The latest NHS Improvement vacancy figures are available at the following link: www.improvement.nhs.uk/resources/quarterly-performance-nhs-provider-sector-quarter-4-201718/ NHS Digital publishes NHS vacancy statistics, created from administrative data related to job advertisements published on NHS Jobs, the main recruitment website for the NHS. The provisional experimental NHS Vacancy Statistics publication provides a proxy for vacancy information and, therefore, should be treated with caution. As one vacancy advert can be used to fill multiple vacancies it is not possible to accurately state the number of vacancies within a specified period – the only accurate statement is that the number of advertised vacancy full-time equivalents shows the minimum number of vacancies advertised. The figures contained in the publication are intended to provide an insight to recruitment in the NHS. It is not possible to identify unfilled advertised vacancies. The latest NHS Vacancy Statistics publication is available at the following link: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-vacancies-survey/nhs-vacancy-statistics-england-february-2015-september-2017-provisional-experimental-statistics HEE provides estimates of “shortage” as part of their Workforce Strategy for England. HEE advise that they work with a definition of 'shortage' as the difference between the number of funded posts and the number of contracted staff in post. HEE’s latest estimates of staff shortages and the plan for tackling these issues is set out in their Facing the Facts, Shaping the Future, A draft health and care workforce strategy for England to 2027 published in December 2017. This can be found at the following link: https://hee.nhs.uk/our-work/workforce-strategy

Arthritis

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that people with Arthritis have adequate access to (a) aids and (b) adaptations that enable them to live independently.

Caroline Dinenage: We know that aids and adaptations can greatly enhance the quality of life of older and disabled people, including those with arthritis, in addition to supporting them to be as independent as possible in their own homes. The Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) supports disabled people, on low-incomes, to adapt their homes to make them safe and suitable for their needs. Funding had already increased year-on-year, rising from £220 million in 2015-16 to £431 million in 2017-18. The Autumn Budget 2017 provided an additional £42 million for the remainder of the 2017-18 financial year. The grant is £468 million in 2018-19 and funding will rise further to £505 million by 2019-20. An independent review of the DFG has recently completed. It assesses how the DFG is currently working, and makes evidence-based recommendations on how it could change in the future. It also considers wider adaptations issues including how the DFG might need to adapt to the changing aids and adaptations market and whether it could support the adoption of new innovations and technology, and new designs. The Department of Health and Social Care, together with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, is carefully considering the recommendations and next steps. Personal health budgets are another way the National Health Service is giving people more choice and control of the services they receive. Personal health budgets can be spent on a range of things agreed as part of a care plan, including community equipment such as aids and minor adaptations.

NHS: Tax Avoidance

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effect of the (a) 2019 Loan Charge and (b) IR35 reforms on the NHS.

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of locum doctors who are affected by the 2019 Loan Charge.

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, hat estimate he has made of the number of NHS Trusts that rely on blanket IR35 assessments of non-payroll NHS staff.

Stephen Barclay: No sector wide assessment has been made of the effects of the 2019 Loan Charge and IR35 reforms on the National Health Service. While there was some anecdotal evidence of locum staff shortages when the changes were first implemented, recent HM Revenue and Customs research has identified that 58% of central public bodies have not experienced problems with filling off-payroll worker vacancies and 63% have not experienced an increase in contractor rates payable as a result of the new legislation. There is no reason to suggest that these figures are significantly different for NHS bodies. No estimate of the number of locum doctors affected by the 2019 Loan Charge has been made. It is the Department’s expectation however that locum doctors do not enter into tax avoidance arrangements and should comply with this new legislation from its introduction in April 2019. No estimate of the number of NHS trusts that rely on blanket IR35 assessments of non-payroll NHS staff has been made. However, as per the changes to the Income Taxes (Earnings and Pensions Act) 2003 outlined in the 2017 Finance bill, decisions as to whether or not contractors fall inside or outside of the IR35 rules should be made on an individual basis. Recent HM Revenue and Customs research has indicated that 91% of public bodies are making these decisions on an individual basis and we would expect all NHS bodies to be compliant with this legislation and not applying a blanket decision on IR35 to all their contractors. Trusts have been advised to take their own independent advice on how they should determine whether a role and/or worker falls inside or outside IR35. We do not recognise that trusts are operating blanket decisions. While advice supplied by HM Revenue and Customs indicates that a role can be assessed as long as the contractual terms remain the same without the need for assessment on each occasion a worker changes this is not to be confused with a blanker decision - it is a balanced and reviewed decision on the role.

Organs: Transplant Surgery

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to secure access to EU organ transplant networks and databases after the UK leaves the EU.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The current regulatory framework sets high quality and safety standards for organs for transplantation and the Government would seek continued collaboration with the European Union in this area. Planning is ongoing so the Government can make the necessary changes to national regulations to maintain day one operability for sharing organs with EU countries under any EU exit scenario.

Pharmacy: Internet

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to allow pharmacy payment processes to include internet-only dispensing models.

Steve Brine: Through the community pharmacy contractual framework all pharmacies, including distance selling or online pharmacies, are funded to provide the same essential services. Some also elect to provide advanced services and locally commissioned enhanced services, if they meet relevant criteria. Funding is linked to the services a pharmacy provides, not the business model it operates.

Pharmacy: Digital Technology

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential savings from digital-first pharmacy services.

Steve Brine: We have made no assessment of the potential savings from digital-first pharmacy services.

Pharmacy: Digital Technology

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on (a) medicines adherence and (b) error rates in repeat prescription dispensing of digital-first pharmacy services.

Steve Brine: We have made no assessment of the potential effect on medicines adherence or error rates in repeat prescription dispensing of digital-first pharmacy services. However, early indications suggest that automation in the dispensing process can lead to fewer errors.

Obesity: Children

Michelle Donelan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to reduce rates of childhood obesity.

Steve Brine: We published the second chapter of our world-leading childhood obesity plan on 25 June. This builds on the real progress we have made since the publication of chapter one in 2016, particularly in reformulation of the products our children eat and drink most. Our plan sets a bold ambition to halve childhood obesity and significantly reduce the gap in obesity between children from the most and least deprived areas by 2030.

Ambulance Services

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to ensure support for ambulance trusts during winter 2018-19.

Stephen Barclay: I have been engaging with NHS Improvement, NHS England and the ambulance service to support improved ambulance performance. To help meet pressures this winter and beyond, on 6 July we announced £36.3 million of investment in the ambulance service that will be used to purchase 256 state-of-the art ambulances at five ambulance trusts, and to develop vehicle preparation hubs in the East of England and Yorkshire, which will see specialist staff quickly restock, refuel and clean ambulances, getting them back on the road faster. Additionally, following a rigorous independent evaluation, we have introduced an improved national performance framework for ambulances. These changes prioritise responses to the sickest patients, while helping to reduce long waits for ambulance responses; ensure patients receive the response they need, first time; and improve the efficiency and resilience of the ambulance service in the face of rising demand. Challenged ambulance trusts, including the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST), are receiving tailored support to meet the new national response time standards. This includes comprehensive cross-system reviews led by regional directors, and the implementation of performance improvement plans. Further actions to deliver improvement at EEAST include additional funding for 330 new staff and 160 new ambulances, alongside the implementation of recommendations from the recently published governance review of the Trust. This will ensure the Trust has appropriate capacity and governance processes in place to meet demand and deliver high quality ambulance responses to patients.

Attorney General

Legal Profession: Voluntary Work

Jim Shannon: To ask the Attorney General, how he plans to encourage practising lawyers to volunteer pro bono hours for Citizens Advice Bureaux in their local communities.

Robert Buckland: Holding answer received on 06 July 2018



As the Government's pro bono champions, the Attorney and I chair the pro bono panel and committee to bring together key players to steer and coordinate the overall work in this area. The panel and committee feature members from across the legal community, including Citizens Advice.Each year the Attorney and I take part in National Pro Bono week. We attend and support pro bono events across the country, to encourage the excellent work being done by the pro bono community. This year Global Pro Bono Week is taking place 29th October – 2nd November, and will involve many organisations across the legal community including members of our pro bono panel and committee like Citizens Advice.In the past year over 1,000 lawyers provided pro bono help through local Citizens Advice offices and I will continue to encourage more lawyers to do this.

Offences against Children: Newcastle upon Tyne

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Attorney General, with reference to the oral contribution of the Solicitor General of 21 June 2018, Official Report, column 462, when he plans to respond to the Spicer report on the sexual exploitation of girls and young women in Newcastle.

Robert Buckland: Holding answer received on 19 July 2018



David Spicer’s comprehensive review sheds light on abhorrent child sexual exploitation and I have not taken this matter lightly. The Home Office will be writing to you on behalf of the Government shortly. I would like to reassure you that the CPS, along with the wider Government, is committed to improving the national response to tackling sexual exploitation. The CPS will be considering its guidance on the involvement of the Service with the changing local safeguarding arrangements in line with the broader recommendations. Specifically, CPS North East is working closely with Newcastle Crown Court and other partners within the Criminal Justice System to improve the experience of victims and witnesses when attending court and to ensure that the commitments to witness care set out in the Victim’s Code and the Witness Charter are properly delivered. More broadly, the Government has already taken significant action to tackle this issue. In February 2017, the Government published its Tackling Child Sexual Exploitation: Progress Report and announced a £40m package of measures to protect children and young people from sexual abuse, exploitation and trafficking, and to crack down on offenders. This included £7.5m for a new, ground-breaking Centre of Expertise that will identify, generate, and share high quality evidence of what works to prevent and tackle child sexual abuse and exploitation. The recommendations of the review cover a wide range of issues, which we will consider carefully in the context of this existing programme of work.

Public Legal Evaluation Panel

John Grogan: To ask the Attorney General, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the work of the Public Legal Evaluation Panel to date.

Robert Buckland: Holding answer received on 19 July 2018



As the Government’s pro bono champion, I am able to work closely with those involved in Public Legal Education, supporting initiatives to increase its profile and reach more members of the public. The Public Legal Education panel is formed of leading organisations who promote the importance of teaching people about the law and their basic civil and criminal rights. It features members from across the legal community, for example the Law for Life, Citizens Advice and the Bar Council. The Panel are currently combining their resources to map the provision and need of Public Legal Education around the county and to support and drive forward public legal education initiatives so more people can reap the benefits.

Dangerous Driving: Sentencing

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Attorney General, how many sentences imposed for causing death by dangerous driving his Department has considered under the unduly lenient sentence scheme in each of the last five years; on how many occasions in each of the last five years he has referred such sentences to the Court of Appeal; and how many of those sentences have been extended by the Court of Appeal as the original sentence imposed fell outside the range of sentences that could reasonably have been imposed in the circumstances of the case.

Robert Buckland: The numbers of sentences for death by dangerous driving offences that have been successfully referred to the Court of Appeal as unduly lenient in the last five years are as follows:Year20142015201620172018 to dateSentences referred to the Attorney General’s Office1115203516Sentences referred to the Court of Appeal by the Attorney General’s Office02283*Sentences increased by the Court of Appeal02241 * This figure includes the case of Robert Brown which was referred to the Court of Appeal in July 2018 and in which it has reserved judgement.

Department for International Development

Developing Countries: Education

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, when her Department will set out its policy on the UN-backed  International Finance Facility for Education; and if the Government will make i t its policy to provide a financial guarantee to that facility.

Harriett Baldwin: The UK is reviewing the proposal for the International Finance Facility for Education. We will set out our policy towards the Facility, including the potential provision of financial guarantees, once the technical design work has been concluded. The World Bank, on whose support the Facility depends, have agreed to reach a view on the Facility ahead of UNGA.

UNRWA: Finance

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment she has made of the effect of the funding shortfall for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees on front line services in (a) the West Bank, (b) Gaza, (c) Jordan, (d) Lebanon and (e) Syria.

Alistair Burt: UNRWA has a twin-track approach to addressing the funding shortfall: raising additional money from donors; and identifying those programme ‎activities which can be merged with its core activities or reviewing non-core activities which can be picked up by other providers. The UK supports UNRWA’s approach, and has increased our funding for UNRWA this year to £38.5 million so far.Emergency Appeal activities currently being reviewed are:1. West BankEmergency interventions such as cash for work activities, community mental health and mobile health work;2. GazaCommunity mental health programmes and the job creation project;3. Jordan & LebanonPalestinian refugees from Syria in Jordan and Lebanon will continue to receive UNRWA support, and the delivery of UNRWA’s core services are funded until late August;4. SyriaUNRWA core services are currently funded until late August, and emergency services are secure until the end of 2018.

Syria: Palestinians

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent estimate she has made of the number of refugees who have been displaced from Yarmouk refugee camp; and if she will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: The recent Assad regime offensive on Yarmouk camp has resulted in the displacement of approximately 6,000 residents according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency’s assessment. When access permits, DFID is supporting the UN, NGOs and other partners to deliver life-saving assistance to those who remain in Yarmouk and those who were displaced following the siege, by providing food, healthcare, water and other life-saving relief.

Libya: Minority Groups

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to tackle the persecution of the Tawerga in Libya.

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assistance her Department is providing to the Tawerga that are currently displaced in the UN-supported Qararet al-Qatef camp.

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what support her Department is offering to people from the Tawerga community that have been displaced outside Libya as a result of the actions of the Libyan government.

Alistair Burt: The UK regularly raises the displacement of the Tawerga community with interlocutors in Libya. In April 2018, Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Libya raised the issue of a political deal between Misrata and Tawerga when he met with political and military leaders in Misrata, urging them to focus on its swift implementation. This political deal came into effect in June 2018 and should allow for the return of displaced Tawergans to their hometown. The UK is one of the world’s largest contributors to the UN’s general budget. This budget is used to fund the work of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, which is supporting displaced Tawergans in the Qareret al-Qatef camp. Through the Conflict Stability and Security Fund, the UK is supporting the UNDP’s Stabilisation Facility for Libya (SFL); SFL Board members recently agreed that work to support the Tawerga should be a priority area. The UK has also recently signed a contract with a Libyan NGO to deliver mine risk education to displaced people from Tawerga, in order to reduce the risk of harm from explosive remnants of war on their return to their homes.

Department for Education

Schools: Finance

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of (a) maintained nursery schools, (b) local authority maintained primary schools, (c) maintained secondary schools, (d) primary academies and (e) secondary academy schools were in budget deficit in (i) the last and (ii) each of the preceding three financial years.

Nick Gibb: Holding answer received on 12 July 2018



The Department trusts schools to manage their own budgets. The vast majority of schools are operating with a cumulative surplus, with only a small percentage in cumulative deficit. An academy trust may contain a mixture of primary and secondary academies. Trusts are the legal entities responsible for academies, including their finances and are accountable at trust level.The most recent figures show that 9% of maintained schools are in cumulative deficit, compared to 6% of academy trusts. The proportion of all schools in cumulative deficit or in trusts with a cumulative deficit was lower in 2017 than it was in 2010 (7.6% versus 9.1%). Published data for 2010 covers local authority maintained schools only, reflecting the fact that almost all schools were local authority maintained at this point.The table shows the proportion of maintained schools and academy trusts with a cumulative deficit each year from 2014/15 to 2016/17, the latest year for which data is available:  Percentage of maintained schools and trusts in cumulative deficit 2014-152015-162016-17All maintained schools (including special and PRU schools)5.4%6.0%9.1%Nursery maintained schools10.6%12.7%18.2%Primary maintained schools4.2%4.5%7.1%Secondary maintained schools15.0%17.8%26.3%Academy trusts4.0%5.5%6.1% Percentage of schools in cumulative deficit or in trusts with a cumulative deficit 2009-102016-17All schools9.1%7.6%

Injuries: Children

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether medical evidence of non-accidental injuries must be provided before children's services departments place children in the care of a local authority on the grounds of such injuries; and if he will make a statement.

Nadhim Zahawi: One of the key principles of the legislation which underpins the UK’s child protection system is that children are best looked after within their families. However, as a last resort, after other steps have failed, local authorities may apply to the independent courts for a decision to be made about removing a child from his or her family for the child’s safety. Children’s welfare must be the paramount factor when decisions are taken in any case involving children. Where a local authority believes that a child is suffering, or at risk of suffering, significant harm, they can apply to the independent courts for a care (or supervision) order. The courts may only make a care order to remove a child from his or her family’s care if they are satisfied that the child is suffering or likely to suffer significant harm and that a care order is deemed better for the child than not taking any action; or the child is beyond parental control. This assessment must be based on evidence and the courts must be satisfied that any factual circumstances that are alleged are more likely than not to have arisen in order to rely on them. However, local authorities need not have and indeed may not be able to access medical evidence prior to taking action to seek to take a child into their care.

Pupils: Mental Health

Damien Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure the availability of support for children's mental health in the run-up to examinations.

Nick Gibb: Schools are responsible for preparing their pupils for examinations and should have strong pastoral support in place to help pupils with any worries they might have.The Government has taken steps to increase teachers’ awareness of mental health issues. The Department of Health and Social Care is funding mental health awareness training for every secondary school teacher and plans to extend this to all primary schools before the end of this Parliament. This is in addition to funding MindEd – a free online portal providing information and training about mental health problems for adults working with children and young people.Where pupils have an emerging mental health issue, many schools offer support. A Departmental survey indicated that 84% of secondary schools provide school-based counselling for pupils with emerging issues.As set out in the green paper ‘Transforming Children and Young People’s Mental Health provision’, the Government has committed to funding all schools to train a designated senior lead for mental health. The leads will be trained to promote and support good mental health and wellbeing in a school setting. The paper includes proposals for new Mental Health Support Teams. These will be made up of professionals trained in evidence-based interventions, with supervision from clinicians, to work alongside teachers and other professionals such as counsellors to provide support. The teams will also provide better routes into specialist NHS services for the pupils who need them.

Residential Care Leadership Board

Rebecca Pow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Government response to the  review of the experiences and outcomes of children in residential special schools and colleges, published in November 2017, what plans he has to ensure that the national leadership board will include people with expertise in speech, language and communication needs.

Nadhim Zahawi: Membership of the national leadership board has yet to be determined. We will ensure that the board takes on board the views of those with expertise in speech, language and communication needs.

Children: Social Services

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children in (a) Lewisham Deptford constituency, (b) Lewisham borough and (c) England  were referred to children's social services on more than one occasion in each of the last five years.

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children were referred to children's social services on more than one occasion in the same reporting year in each of the last five years in (a) Lewisham Deptford constituency, (b) Lewisham borough and (c) England.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Department for Education does not hold the information in the requested format.Figures on children in need are published at a local authority level, not a constituency level. Therefore, the figures for Lewisham Deptford constituency are not available.The number of children referred to social services on one or more occasions within the same reporting year is not a figure that is routinely produced. Similarly, the number of children referred to social services at least once within consecutive reporting years is also not routinely produced.The department publishes figures on the number of referrals which were within 12 months of a previous referral. This is a measure of the number of re-referrals rather than the number of children re-referred. Last year, the number of children to which these referrals applied was published for the first time. However, this information is not available for earlier years. These figures have been provided below. Table 1: Number of referrals to children's social services that were within 12 months of a previous referral from 2012-13 to 2016-17, and number of children who had a referral within 12 months of a previous referral in 2016-17Re-Referrals20132014201520162017England147,700154,000152,400138,700141,560Lewisham414262377387334Children Re-referredEngland........117,710Lewisham........319 The total number of referrals to children’s social services within one reporting year is also reported in table C1 of main tables in the ‘children in need and child protection’ statistical collection on GOV.UK. It can be accessed at this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-children-in-need.These figures do not include the number of children who are referred in consecutive years however, as this measure is not routinely produced.

Pupil Numbers

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 4 July 2018 to Question HL8817, how many pupils attend (a) academy sponsor-led and (b) local authority maintained schools.

Nadhim Zahawi: As at 31 August 2010, based on the old Ofsted methodology[1], 80,610 pupils attended academy sponsor-led schools, and 7,253,750 pupils attended local authority maintained schools. As at 31 December 2017, based on the old Ofsted methodology1, 694,329 pupils attended academy sponsor-led schools, and 4,218,520 pupils attended local authority maintained schools.  [1] Following a consultation, new Ofsted methodology contains some changes to the way in which they report on schools’ most recent inspection grades. The data includes the most recent inspection grades for an inspection of an earlier version of the same school (inspected under a different unique reference number (URN)) for schools yet to be inspected under their current URN. See: http://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/changes-to-ofsteds-statistical-reporting-of-inspection-outcomes-for-maintained-schools-and-academies for the consultation and an analysis of the responses.

Children: Food Poverty

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions he has had and with whom on the number of children who are at risk of experiencing hunger during school summer holidays in 2018.

Nadhim Zahawi: The government recently announced a programme of research and pilots across the country that will explore ways of supporting children from disadvantaged families to access free enrichment activities and healthy food during school holidays.This programme of work will investigate how to provide a balanced programme for the most disadvantaged school-age pupils, combining engaging activity with a healthy and nutritious meal. Work is already underway and further piloting in 2019 will follow the initial research taking place in the 2018 summer holidays.In developing this programme of work, I met with both the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent North and with the right hon. Member for Birkenhead, and my officials have met with a wide range of stakeholders to discuss this important issue.

Family Drug and Alcohol Court

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps are being taken to ensure that the graduation rate of the Family Drug and Alcohol Court is maintained beyond September 2018.

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the closure of the Family Drug and Alcohol Court on rates of substance abuse by people who would otherwise have gone through that Court.

Nadhim Zahawi: Local Family Drug and Alcohol Courts (FDACs) will continue to be funded, as they and other innovative models similar to FDAC currently are, by those local areas who choose to establish or commission these services locally. It is important that families are supported to overcome issues related to alcohol and substance misuse, and the government is investing £16 billion in public health services and has set out a wide-ranging drug strategy to address this.We understand that the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust is considering the future of the FDAC National Unit, which they have run since its establishment in 2015. Officials are currently working with the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust to ensure that the impact of the potential closure of the FDAC National Unit on local sites is minimised and that any resources developed by the FDAC National Unit remains accessible to them, and others, interested in the FDAC model in the future.

Pre-school Education: Expenditure

Mr Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding the Government has provided to maintained nursery schools in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) England in each year since 2010.

Nadhim Zahawi: Maintained nursery schools (MNS) make an important contribution to improving the lives of some of our most disadvantaged children. In recognition of the costs that MNS experience over and above other providers, we are providing supplementary funding of around £60 million a year. This is in addition to funding received under the Early Years National Funding Formula (EYNFF). It will enable local authorities to protect MNS pre-EYNFF funding levels until 2019 to 2020. This funding is allocated and spent at a local authority level rather than at a constituency level. MNS supplementary funding was introduced from 2017 to 2018.Final allocations of 2017 to 2018 MNS supplementary funding at local authority, regional and national levels are at column M of the 2017-18 Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) allocations tab of the ‘DSG allocations 2017 to 2018’ spreadsheet. This is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dedicated-schools-grant-dsg-2017-to-2018.Provisional allocations of 2018-19 MNS supplementary funding at local authority, regional and national levels are at column M of the 2018-19 Early Years Block tab of the ‘DSG allocations 2018 to 2019’ spreadsheet. This is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dedicated-schools-grant-dsg-2018-to-2019.

Children: Social Services

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has made a recent assessment of the capacity of Coventry City Council to discharge its statutory responsibilities to vulnerable children; and if he will make a statement.

Nadhim Zahawi: Formal assessment of local authority delivery of children’s social care is the responsibility of the independent inspectorate, Ofsted. Ofsted conducted a full inspection of Coventry City Council’s (CCC’s) children’s social care services in March 2017, and the subsequent report, published on 14 June 2017, found services to be ‘requires improvement’. This is an improvement from their previous inspection judgement in May 2014 which found them to be ‘inadequate’. Following the inspection in March 2017, consistent with government policy for councils that have previously failed an inspection but have now improved services, CCC were no longer formally in ‘intervention’. However, it was clear, as Ofsted reported, that the council still had more work to do to ensure all vulnerable children were receiving a good service. Since then, the department has continued to work with the council to monitor whether recent improvements are being sustained. CCC are now participating in a regional improvement alliance joining with other local councils in the region in a programme of supportive peer challenge to ensure services continue to improve and do not deteriorate back into being ‘inadequate’. Concerns about the functioning of a local authority’s children’s social care services should be reported to Ofsted.

Children: Social Services

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department is providing assistance to local authorities to meet the demand for children’s services in rural areas around Coventry; and if he will make a statement.

Nadhim Zahawi: The 2015 Spending Review made available more than £200 billion until 2020 for councils to deliver the local services their communities want to see, including children’s services. In February, Parliament confirmed the settlement for local government. This provided a £1.3 billion increase in resources to local government over the next two years.Funding for children’s services is an un-ring-fenced part of the wider local government finance settlement, to give local authorities the flexibility to focus on locally determined priorities and, of course, their statutory responsibilities, including children’s social care. It is up to local authorities to decide how best to allocate their funds to meet the demand for children’s services in their local area.In addition to core funding, the Department for Education has also committed almost £270 million since 2014 to help local authorities to innovate and reform services to achieve better quality and efficiency. The Innovation Programme is enabling local authorities across the country to develop, test and scale more effective and efficient approaches to supporting children and young people. Learning from the Innovation Programme is informing the new What Works Centre for Children’s Social Care, whose early priorities include improving the evidence of what works in reducing the need for children to enter care.We recognise that funding pressures on local authorities may be greater in some parts of the country than in others so we are working alongside the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and the sector to review current funding distributions as part of the government’s fair funding review of relative needs and resources.

Children: Day Care

Melanie Onn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the amount paid in business rates by (a) private, (b) volunteering and (c)independent childcare providers in the last 12 months.

Nadhim Zahawi: Our Early Years National Funding Formula for three and four year olds contains an Area Cost Adjustment that includes a premises element based on rateable values. We have recently commissioned new research to provide us with further robust and detailed data of the costs of delivering childcare for under five year olds using a representative sample of early years providers.

Children: Day Care

Melanie Onn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children are eligible for 30 hours free childcare in north each Lincolnshire.

Nadhim Zahawi: The government set out in the 2015 Spending Review that nationally we expect 390,000 children to be eligible for 30 hours free childcare. This figure is derived from national survey data taken in January and is an average across the year. Estimates at a regional and local authority level are not available due to the relatively small population that we are estimating within sub national geographies.We publish termly experimental statistics showing the number of children in a place. The most recent publication showed that 943 codes were issued in North East Lincolnshire and 974 children were in a 30 hours place in the summer term. The full publication – including a local authority level breakdown – is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/30-hours-free-childcare-summer-term-2018.As we move in to the second year of delivery, we will continue to publish management information on the number of codes issued for 30 hours. This will be available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/30-hours-free-childcare-eligibility-codes-issued-and-validated – the most recent publication on 12 July shows that 573 codes have already been issued in North East Lincolnshire for the start of the next academic year.

Pupil Exclusions

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children were excluded from school in (a) London and (b) the UK in each year since 2010.

Nick Gibb: The National Statistics release ‘Permanent and fixed-period exclusions in England 2016 to 2017’ includes numbers and rates of exclusions. The full release is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/permanent-and-fixed-period-exclusions-in-england-2016-to-2017. Information for regions and England by academic year is available in the Underlying data section of the release, in the file “national_region_la_school_data_exc1617.csv”. The data can be filtered by the columns “year, “level” and “region_name”. Information for Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales are produced by the relevant Departments.

Secondary Education: Greater London

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of funding for secondary schools in South East London.

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of funding for primary schools in South East London.

Nick Gibb: The Government has made a significant extra investment of £1.3 billion in the core schools budget across 2018-19 and 2019-20, over and above the budget announced at the 2015 spending review. This means that funding will be maintained in real terms per pupil. The national funding formula, supported by this extra investment, has allocated up to 3% more funding per pupil for underfunded schools and it will allocate further gains of up to 3% per pupil in 2019-20. Under the formula, every school attracted at least 0.5% for every pupil in 2018-19 and will attract at least 1% more funding for every pupil by 2019-20, compared to the 2017-18 baselines.In addition, schools in more expensive areas like London receive higher per pupil funding than schools in other parts of the country to reflect the higher costs they face. We have published information about the impact of the national funding formulae at school and local authority level, which is available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-funding-formula-for-schools-and-high-needs.

Academies

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many academy schools are in receipt of a termination notice; how long each academy has been waiting to be re-brokered; how many academies have agreed to voluntary re-brokering; and how long each academy with that status has been waiting for a new sponsor.

Nadhim Zahawi: As at 20 July 2018, there are three academy trusts that are in receipt of a termination notice. The Regional Schools Commissioner (RSC), on behalf of the Secretary of State, can terminate a trust’s funding agreement under certain exceptional circumstances. This is a power rather than a duty, meaning the RSC may decide to implement other measures to improve the school rather than terminate the funding agreement to bring about a change of trust. Information on the length of time before the decision to re-broker and a re-brokerage, including how long each academy has waited for a new sponsor and the reason behind each re-brokerage, can only be obtained at disproportionate cost. Standards are rising in our schools, with almost 516,000 children studying in good or outstanding sponsored academies that were typically previously underperforming schools.The number of academies that fail to meet the required standards represents a tiny fraction of the academies sector but we always act quickly to tackle underperformance, taking action to support head teachers and build the capability of trusts to drive further improvements in our schools.Our priority is to drive improvements in underperforming schools, and we will only consider terminating a funding agreement or transferring an academy to a new trust where this is in the best interests of the pupils. The majority of new trusts taking on an academy from another need no additional financial support and are voluntary transfers, as the trusts recognise the benefits of collaboration with a larger trust. Transferring land and other contracts to a new trust can take time and trusts prefer to align the transfer with the start of term or the new academic year.

Academies: Standards

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many local authority maintained schools which have failed an Ofsted inspection receiving an inadequate judgement are still waiting for an academy sponsor to be confirmed; and how many of those schools have been waiting (a) less than 9 months, (b) between 9 and 18 months, (c) 2 years, (d) 3 years and (e) over 3 years; and how many such schools are in the process of being issued an academy order.

Nadhim Zahawi: As of 1 July 2018, there are over 2,000 open sponsored academies. As of 1 June 2018, 103 local authority-maintained schools had previously been judged inadequate by Ofsted and were in the process of having the sponsor confirmed. The details of the length of time elapsed between being judged Inadequate by Ofsted and being matched with a suitable sponsor for these 103 schools are as follows in table 1:Table 1: Number of academies previously judged inadequate - time elapsed between Ofsted judgement and match with suitable sponsor Time between inadequate Ofsted judgement and suitable sponsor match (months):Number of schoolsLess than 9569 to 182618 to 24524 to 27 months16Total103Source: Open academies and academy projects in development MI – June 2018 Ofsted MI – 30 June 2018 In cases where schools in receipt of an academy order are yet to have a suitable sponsor confirmed, the school will be supported in other ways. This can include a preferred sponsor providing interim support, support provided by the local authority or another sponsor, or a teaching school alliance.When a local authority-maintained school has been inspected by Ofsted and is judged Inadequate, the department receives notice of this. However, Ofsted will need to carry out a moderation inspection. Therefore, the department cannot act until this has been finalised. Due to this, we are unable to say how many local authority-maintained schools that have been judged Inadequate are in the process of being issued with an academy order.

Social Mobility Commission: Public Appointments

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding his Department spent on advertising the position for Chair of the Social Mobility Commission; how that money was spent; how much funding is being spent on advertising for the role of Social Mobility Commissioners; and how that funding is being spent.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Department for Education did not spend any funding advertising the position of Chair of the Social Mobility Commission and is not spending any funding on advertising the Social Mobility Commissioner roles.

Schools: Standards

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools have been rated by Ofsted as inadequate for (a) two years, (b) three years, (c) four years, (d) five  years and (e) more than six years.

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools have been rated by Ofsted as requires improvement for (a) two years, (b) three years, (c) four years, (d) five  years and (e) more than six years.

Nick Gibb: These are matters for Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman. I have asked her to write to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Education: Cybercrime

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that colleges remain sufficiently protected from cyber-attack should any college choose to opt out of the forthcoming Jisc subscription.

Anne Milton: At present further education colleges benefit from the high quality of cyber-security offered through Jisc. Once subscriptions are introduced, we will continue to provide grant funding to cover the bulk of Jisc’s costs, including cyber-security. Any college who chooses to opt out from using Jisc services will need to ensure they have an appropriate level of cyber-security in place in order to safeguard their systems, staff and learners.

Special Educational Needs

Mr John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effect of removing children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) from their SEND school on the educational outcomes of such children.

Nadhim Zahawi: Once a pupil has been admitted to a school, they may only be removed from the admissions register in limited circumstances prescribed by regulations – The Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006, as amended.Where a school asks a pupil to leave, they must follow the formal exclusions process set out in law and guidance. The guidance on exclusions is clear that headteachers should make additional efforts to consider what extra support is needed to avoid exclusion for those groups with disproportionately high rates of exclusion. This includes pupils with special educational needs. In addition to this, the guidance states that headteachers should, as far as possible, avoid permanently excluding any pupil with an Education Health and Care Plan.In March, we will announce an externally led review of exclusions practice, led by Edward Timpson CBE. The review will consider how schools use exclusion and how this impacts on all pupils. It will focus particularly on why some groups of children are more likely to be excluded from school.

Ministry of Justice

HM Courts and Tribunals Service: Enforcement

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department (a) requested and (b) received presentations in person from bidders for the tender for Approved Enforcement Agency services, and if he will make a statement.

Lucy Frazer: No personal presentations from bidders were requested or received.

HM Courts and Tribunals Service: Enforcement

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has made site visits to the bidders for the tender for Approved Enforcement Agency services; and if he will make a statement.

Lucy Frazer: No site visits were made to the bidders during the procurement process.

Courts: Disclosure of Information

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether (a) he and (b) officials in his Department have had discussions with representatives of Corruption Watch UK on restrictions to public reporting on court cases.

Lucy Frazer: The Secretary of State has had no discussions with representatives of Corruption Watch to date, but officials from his Department recently met with the organisation to discuss restrictions to public reporting on court cases following the launch of a Corruption Watch UK report on the matter on 13 July.

Corruption: Disclosure of Information

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of foreign bribery cases have been subject to reporting restrictions in the last 12 months.

Lucy Frazer: Of the thirteen foreign bribery cases which have had a court hearing in the last 12 months, seven have been subject to reporting restrictions.

Open Prisons

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the (a) capacity and (b) occupancy is for each open prison for men in England and Wales.

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the (a) capacity and (b) occupancy is for each open prison for women in England and Wales.

Rory Stewart: HM Prison and Probation Service publishes a breakdown of all population and capacity figures by prison at the end of every month which are accessible at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/prison-population-figures-2018 with the most recent available being for June 2018. The following table identifies all open prisons in the adult male prison estate with their respective operational capacity, population and occupancy as at Friday 29 June 2018.Prison NameOperational CapacityPopulationOccupancyBlantyre HousePrison not currently in useFord54453598.35%Hatfield37837498.94%Hewell Grange*22422198.66%Hollesley Bay48046697.08%Kirkham65358689.74%Kirklevington Grange28326593.64%Leyhill51551399.61%North Sea Camp42040897.14%Prescoed26025397.31%Spring Hill32632098.31%Standford Hill46446199.35%Sudbury58156597.25%Thorn Cross38737997.93%*Hewell Grange is an open unit within a larger closed adult male prison. The table below identifies the two open prisons in the Female prison estate with their respective capacity, population and occupancy figures, also as at 29 June 2018.  Prison NameOperational CapacityPopulation OccupancyAskham Grange12811085.94%Eastwood Park43035983.49% Open conditions are an important means of testing and furthering the rehabilitation of offenders, especially those who have spent many years in closed conditions.We keep the prison population and capacity under careful review to ensure that there is always sufficient capacity. Decisions on the future size of the prison estate will reflect the current and projected prison population, including an assessment of the necessary margin to manage population fluctuations.

Grandparents: Child Arrangement Orders

Darren Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when his Department plans to issue a public consultation on the legal rights of grandparents to access to their grandchildren after estrangement between grandparents and parents.

Lucy Frazer: The Government is keen to take steps wherever possible to reduce conflict within families when relationships come to an end. I am considering what measures Government could take to help grandchildren maintain contact with grandparents following parental separation and will bring forward proposals once I have explored the issues more fully.

Amey

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 4 July 2018 to Question 157827 on Amey, what changes his Department made to the contracts with Amey after they were reset following the HMP Liverpool inspection report in January 2018.

Rory Stewart: There have been no formal contract changes made to the contracts with Amey following the HMP Liverpool inspection report. Our focus continues to be securing improvements to the operational delivery of the contracts with Amey through strengthened contract management and oversight.

Amey

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 4 July 2018 to Question 157827 on Amey, whether additional funding was allocated to Amey after contracts with the company were reset after the HMP Liverpool inspection report in January 2018.

Rory Stewart: Additional funding has not been allocated to the core fixed fee work elements of the Amey contracts after the HMP Liverpool inspection report. Nevertheless, the volume of variable fee work at HMP Liverpool has increased over the last few months as the outstanding maintenance issues at the prison are addressed.

Social Security Benefits: Appeals

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of appeals to the Tribunals Service in (a) Glasgow South West constituency, (b) Glasgow, (c) Scotland and (d) the UK for (i) personal independence payments, (ii) employment and support allowance, (iii) income support, (iv) jobseekers allowance and (v) tax credits were successful in the latest period for which figures are available.

Lucy Frazer: Information about the volumes and outcomes of appeals to the First-tier Tribunal (Social Security and Child Support) is published at:www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statisticsThe information provided below is a further breakdown of this data.Proportion1 of appeals decided in favour of the appellant in the latest period for which figures are available April 2017 – March 2018 Personal Independence Payment (PIP)2Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)3Income Support (IS)Jobseeker Allowance (JSA)Tax Credits4Glasgow562%71%33%63%38%Scotland58%69%27%69%30%Great Britain6 68%68%35%47%33%  1 Proportion of decisions in favour, based on the number of appeals found in favour of the appellant as a % of the cases cleared at tribunal hearing.2 Personal Independence Payments (New Claim Appeals), which replaced Disability Living Allowance from 8 April 2013, also includes Personal Independence Claims (Reassessments).3 Includes Employment and Support Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance (Reassessments)4 Tax Credits includes Working Family Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit, and Working Tax Credit.5 First-tier Tribunal (Social Security and Child Support) appeals for Glasgow South West constituents are heard in the Glasgow venue but this venue also hears appeals from other Glasgow constituencies. It is not possible to provide constituency-specific data.6HM Courts & Tribunals Service administers appeals for appellants living in England, Scotland and Wales. Data are therefore for those appellants only. The Northern Ireland Courts & Tribunals Service administers appeals for appellants living in Northern Ireland. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the data, the details are subject to inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale case management system and are the best data that are available. Latest figures indicate that since PIP was introduced, more than 3.1 million decisions have been made, and of these under 9% have been appealed and 4% have been overturned. For ESA the figure is only 8% of decisions made were appealed and 4% have been overturned at tribunals.

Courts: Video Conferencing

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 26 February 2018 to Question 127570, on Courts: Video Conferencing, what proportion of defendants have appeared in court proceedings via video link from (a) police stations and (b) prisons in each year since 2000.

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 26 February 2018 to Question 127570, on Courts: Video Conferencing, what proportion of witnesses have appeared in court proceedings via video link in each year since 2000.

Lucy Frazer: Holding answer received on 23 July 2018



The table below shows the proportion of defendants that appeared in court proceedings via video link from (a) police station and (b) prisons between 2013-2017. Data is not available for periods before June 2012, as data collections were not undertaken during that time. HMCTS do not hold the proportion of witnesses that have appeared in Magistrates or Crown court proceedings via video link.   20132014201520162017 Overall  (2013-17)Prison (number of defendants that appeared in court by video by prison video link)53,48772,20181,21974,42977,722359,058Prison (proportion of defendants that appeared in court by video by prison video link) 90.1%89.9%88.8%86.0%88.5%88.7%Police station (number of defendants that appeared in court by video by police station video link)5,8848,08310,27012,08910,06746,393Police station (proportion of defendants that appeared in court by video by police station video link)9.9%10.1%11.2%14.0%11.5%11.3%Total number of defendants that appeared in court by video by police station or prison video link59,37180,28491,48986,51887,789405,451 Source: HMCTS management information Notes: Data is not available for periods before June 2012 as data collections were not undertaken. Data has been supplied for the complete years 2013 to 2017. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that the data has been recorded manually by the local courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when data are used.   The data provided is the most recent available and for that reason might differ slightly from any previously published information. The data supplied is based on a count of defendants appearing in the Magistrates' Courts and Crown Court via Police Station (Mags only) and Prison video link. Therefore, the same defendant will appear in the tables more than once where they initially appeared via Police Station video link, and then subsequently appeared via Prison video link on one or more occasions.   Data are management information and are not subject to the same level of checks as official statistics. Data has not been cross referenced with case files.

Debt Collection

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department's press release, Crackdown on rogue bailiffs, published on 2 April 2018, on how many occasions (a) he and (b) officials in his Department have met with representatives of the bailiff industry to discuss bailiff reform.

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to meet debt advice charities to discuss the scope of the upcoming call for evidence on bailiff reform announced by his Department on 2 April 2018.

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department's press release, Crackdown on rogue bailiffs, published on 2 April 2018, when his Department plans to launch its call for evidence.

Lucy Frazer: The Government intends to launch its call for evidence to evaluate the enforcement agent reforms introduced by Tribunals, Court and Enforcement Act 2007 soon after the summer recess. Minsters have had no recent meetings with representatives from the bailiff industry to discuss bailiff reform. My officials have met with representatives of the bailiff industry on one occasion since the publication of the one-year review of the 2007 Act in April this year, when the issue of reform was raised. My officials plan meetings both with representatives of the bailiff industry and with debt advice organisations to inform the call for evidence. I recently met with a representative from StepChange at a meeting where I also met the family of Jerome Rogers, where we discussed the bailiff reforms.

Youth Custody

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will list the names of advisers contracted to assist the development of secure schools and the (a) qualifications and (b) professional backgrounds of those advisers.

Edward Argar: In the development of the Secure School’s model we have sourced specialist services in the fields of education, architecture, planning, cost consultancy and project support such as business case development. All these services have been provided on a limited time basis and have been sourced through the relevant Crown Commercial framework. Due to the commercial sensitivity, we are unable to publish the individual names and backgrounds of the advisers that were contracted to assist on secure schools.

Debt Collection

Sarah Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department's announcement entitled Crackdown on rogue bailiffs, published on 2 April 2018 what the timeline is for the call for evidence to be launched.

Lucy Frazer: The Government intends to launch its call for evidence to evaluate the enforcement agent reforms introduced by the Tribunals, Court and Enforcement Act 2007 shortly after the summer recess.

Prisons

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department's announcement, Major new prison reform programme unveiled, published on 9 November 2015, what the timeframe is for each prison to open; and the number of prisons for which (a) work has begun (b) contracts been signed and (c) a decision on the finance mechanism has been made.

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, by what date his Department plans the construction of HMP Glen Parva to have been concluded.

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the date is by which the contract to build HMP Glen Parva will be put out to tender; and what will the timeline for that tender process is planned to be.

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what model of private finance his Department plans to use in the contract to build HMP Glen Parva.

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate his Department has made of the lifetime cost of the building of HMP Glen Parva.

Rory Stewart: As set out in the 2016 Prison Safety & Reform White Paper and 2017 manifesto, we remain committed to building up to 10,000 modern and decent prison places to replace old, expensive and unsuitable accommodation. We intend to build the first prison at Wellingborough through public capital, with construction work expected to begin late 2018 / early 2019 with completion projected for early 2021. We intend to build the second prison at Glen Parva using private finance. We will explore funding routes, including private finance, for the delivery of the remaining prison places. The financing models, timetable and costs for these will be dependent on the relevant value for money and affordability tests, planning permissions and commercial negotiations. The government remains committed to the delivery of these places, which will enable governors to achieve better educational, training and rehabilitative outcomes.

Dangerous Driving

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department plans to review the legal definitions for the offences of (a) careless and (b) dangerous driving.

Rory Stewart: In 2016 the government consulted on changes to driving offences and penalties relating to causing death or serious injury. In the response to the consultation, published in 2017, the government made clear that it does not propose to make any changes to the legal definitions of careless and dangerous driving. But it does propose to increase the maximum penalties for causing death by dangerous driving and causing death by careless driving when under the influence of drink or drugs from 14 years’ imprisonment to life, and to create a new offence of causing serious injury by careless driving.

Magistrates' Courts: Sunderland

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the letter from the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Courts of 6 July 2018 to the non. Member for Houghton and Sunderland South and the hon. Member for Sunderland Central, whether the £825,000 will be reinvested in Sunderland Magistrates’ Court as a result of the decision to relinquish land held on Farringdon Row.

Lucy Frazer: HMCTS has decided to relinquish the land at Farringdon Row which will provide £825,000 of income for reinvestment in the Sunderland Magistrates’ court.

Ministry of Justice: Public Appointments

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish a list of the non-executive appointments made by his Department between April 2018 and March 2019 including (a) the name of the person appointed and the role to which they have been appointed, (b) the date and term of their appointment, (c) their compensation, (d) whether they have declared any conflicts of interest or political activity, (e) who was responsible for managing the process of appointment, (f) what the expected time commitment of the role is and (g) whether the appointment was made in line with the processes laid down by the Commissioner for Public Appointments.

Edward Argar: Announcements of Ministry of Justice public appointments are made on Gov.uk and include the name of the appointee, the position they are being appointed to, and any declared significant political activity. An announcement is not made if, for security reasons, this would not be appropriate, such as appointees to the Independent Monitoring Boards, who have access to prisons. Details of the term of appointment, remuneration, who is responsible for making the appointment, time commitment, and if the role is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments, are included in the advertisement on the Centre for Public Appointments' website. Details of an appointee’s conflicts of interest are not made public unless they appear before the Justice Select Committee as part of the pre-appointment hearing process.

Department for International Trade

Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to the White Paper entitled The future relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union, published in July 2018, Cm 9593, what assessments has been made of the feasibility of accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.

George Hollingbery: As set out in the Government’s White Paper on the future relationship with the EU, the UK will potentially seek accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CTPP). This will take place pending the outcome of a 14-week public consultation and the process of accession for new members being established. Potential accession would be sought on terms consistent with the future relationship with the EU, and domestic priorities. CPTPP includes some of the world's fastest growing economies that together represent 13-14% of global GDP, and a total population of around 500m people. If the UK were to join, it would be the second largest economy in the group, and CPTPP’s coverage of global GDP would increase to around 17%. We are undertaking assessments of all the opportunities presented by CPTPP, including analysis on opportunities the agreement presents to UK consumers and businesses.

Free Trade: Trade Agreements

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many free trade agreements with non-EU countries the Department plans to have signed by the 29 March 2019.

George Hollingbery: As I am sure the Hon. Member for Cardiff Central will be aware, the UK cannot negotiate, sign or ratify trade agreements whilst we remain members of the EU.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

High Rise Flats: Insulation

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of tower blocks with flammable cladding which are covered by insurance for some or all of the costs of re-cladding.

James Brokenshire: Insurance and other warranty cover is a matter for the building owner to arrange with their respective providers. We have made it clear that we expect building owners in the private sector to explore all options to protect leaseholders from incurring the costs associated with replacing unsafe cladding - part of this includes looking at whether there are alternative routes such as insurance claims, warranties or legal action.

Owner Occupation

Mrs Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government what steps he has taken to communicate to new home buyers their right, introduced on 1 April 2017, to request the building inspection records for the property.

Kit Malthouse: The Department published revised Building Control Performance Standards that included the right to ask for inspection records on its website and issued guidance to building control bodies in April 2017 on responding to such requests.

Housing: Cooperatives

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to section 185 of the Localism Act 2011, whether his Department has issued guidance to local authorities on the (a) exemptions and (a) application of selective licensing on fully mutual housing co-operatives.

Kit Malthouse: Section 185 of the Localism Act 2011 amends Schedule 14 of the Housing Act 2004 to exempt fully mutual housing co-operatives from mandatory houses in multiple occupation licensing, this section does not apply to selective licensing. The Government has not issued guidance to local authorities on a) exemptions or b) the application of selective licensing on fully mutual housing co-operatives. Fully mutual housing co-operatives are still subject to local authority selective licensing schemes.

Fire Prevention

Karen Lee: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans his Department has to introduce a more robust regulatory framework for fire conditions during tests of combustibility of materials.

Kit Malthouse: Dame Judith Hackitt’s review recommended that test methods and standards should be regularly reviewed in order to drive continuous improvement. The Government has invited views on the Dame Judith’s findings and recommendations, and will set out an implementation plan in the autumn.

High Rise Flats: Insulation

Karen Lee: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the cost to the public purse has been of the (a) consultation into the banning combustible cladding and (b) the Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety led by Dame Judith Hackitt Review.

Kit Malthouse: A number of staff across the Department contributed to the work on the consultation into banning combustible cladding and the Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety. The Department does not hold information centrally on the staff time or costs taken to prepare the consultation or carry out the review. Dame Judith Hackitt chaired the Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety on a pro bono basis – she was not remunerated and only received reimbursement for exceptional travel expenses.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Staff

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many full-time equivalent staff are employed in his Department's housing directorate; and how many staff of his Department outside of that directorate work on (a) housing and (b) planning related to housing.

James Brokenshire: Holding answer received on 23 July 2018



As of 30 June the headcount in MHCLGs Housing group (Housing Supply, Land & Housing Delivery, Social Housing and Homelessness, Leasehold and Private Renting) was 287 representing a full time equivalent (FTE) of 282.9. Separate to this the Department’s Planning directorate has a headcount at 30 June of 165 representing a full time equivalent of 159.9.

Parks: Standards

Mr Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many (i) parks and green spaces and (ii) local authorities have been awarded his Department’s Green Flag Award in (a) the North East, (b) the North West, (c) Yorkshire and the Humber, (d) the East Midlands, (e) the West Midlands, (f) the East of England, (g) Greater London (h) the South Eas, and (i) the South West.

Rishi Sunak: The Green Flag Award scheme recognises and rewards well managed parks and green spaces, setting the benchmark standard for the management of recreational outdoor spaces across the United Kingdom and around the world.The number of Green Flags Awarded to (i) parks and green spaces and (ii)local authorities across the 9 English regions is detailed below.  Green Flag AwardLocal AuthoritiesNorth East6111North West20628Yorks and Humber6613West Midlands11822East Midlands12528South West9520Greater London38527South East16146East of England14533

Electric Vehicles: Charging Points

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions his Department has had with the Department for Transport on that Department's proposal that all new streetlights should incorporate vehicle charging capability; and what financial provision will be made available to local authorities to cover the additional cost of such capability.

Rishi Sunak: Officials in my Department have regular discussions with the Department for Transport on a range of issues that impact on local authorities, including the proposal that all new streetlights should incorporate vehicle charging capability and the financial implications for local authorities.The proposed policy ambition for all new street lighting columns, where appropriately located, to include charging provision, was consulted on publicly. Grant funding is available for local authorities to install lamp post charging solutions via government’s On Street Residential Charging Scheme

Somerset County Council: Meetings

Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the agenda was for the meeting between the Minister of State for Local Government and the leader of Somerset County Council in July 2018.

Rishi Sunak: The Leader of Somerset County Council, Cllr. Fothergill, accompanied by Cllr Harvey Siggs, Leader of Mendip District Council, Cllr Faye Purbeck, Cabinet member for Education and Council Transformation at Somerset County Council and Patrick Flaherty, Chief Executive of Somerset County Council, met me on 11 July. Cllr. Fothergill arranged this meeting to let me know his and his colleagues’ thoughts about future reorganisation in Somerset, to which I responded by outlining the Government’s position on such unitarisation, which I had set out earlier on 22 May in the Westminster Hall debate on Somerset County Council’s Plans for Unitary Status (Hansard ref Volume 641 Column 335WH).

Grenfell Tower Memorial Commission

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, on what date the Grenfell Tower Memorial Commission was established.

James Brokenshire: Holding answer received on 23 July 2018



The Government published Principles Governing Consultations on the Future of the Grenfell Tower Site on 1 March 2018. These set out the common assumption that we are working towards a commission inclusive of representatives from the community and public authorities. The Government is currently working with representatives of the bereaved, survivors and the community to agree a trusted and transparent process that will enable the community to be at the heart of the consultation and decision-making process on the future of the site. Once agreed with the community, this will be established.

Tenants: Evictions

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the obligation local authorities to give due care and support to tenants who are to be evicted, including those with known mental ill-health.

Nigel Adams: The Homelessness Reduction Act, which came into force on April 3 2018, requires housing authorities to work with those threatened with homelessness within 56 days to try and prevent them becoming homeless. This includes someone subject to a valid Section 21 notice for eviction. The Act also requires housing authorities to take into account the specific needs of people suffering from mental illness or impairment when designing advice and information services. The Government is committed to reviewing the implementation and resourcing of the Act within two years of its commencement.

EU Grants and Loans

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will place in the Library a copy of the consultation process on proposed funding mechanisms which will replace EU structural funding after the UK leaves the EU.

Jake Berry: The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government continues to develop the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), a domestic programme of investment to reduce economic inequalities across our four nations following our departure from the European Union.We will consult widely on the design of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund in 2018, as announced in the Industrial Strategy white paper. The Government has committed to engage with the devolved administrations on the design of the UKSPF prior to this public consultation.

Non-domestic Rates: Valuation

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government,  whether his Department plans to make an assessment of the adequacy of the Check, Challenge, Appeal system in England.

Rishi Sunak: The Government has previously set out its intention to carry out a review of the implementation of the overall package of reforms under Check, Challenge and Appeal by 2019. We will also work with the Valuation Office Agency to monitor implementation of the new system and ongoing improvements to ensure it is working effectively for ratepayers.

Housing

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when his Department plans to publish its response to the consultation on strengthening consumer redress in housing.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The recent consultation “Strengthening consumer redress in the housing market” sought views on how to ensure consumers across the housing sector have access to appropriate redress when things go wrong, and considered whether bringing together redress schemes into a single housing ombudsman service could help simplify access.The consultation ran for 8 weeks and closed on 16 April 2018. We received over 1,000 responses from consumers and industry and will publish a response in due course

Ministry of Defence

Armed Forces: Housing

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 16 March 2018 to Question 132273, on Ministry of Defence: Empty Property, what the average number of bedrooms is in those void properties.

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 16 March 2018 to Question 132273 on Ministry of Defence: Empty Property, how many of those empty properties are (a) Officers’ Families’ Quarters and (b) Servicemen’s Families’ Quarters.

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 16 March 2018 to Question 132273, on Ministry of Defence: Empty Property, what grade those empty properties are under (a) the 4 Tier Grading System and (b) the Combined Accommodation Assessment System.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Holding answer received on 18 July 2018



Further to the answer of 16 March 2018 to Question 132273, as of 11 July 2018 there are 8,458 void properties. 1,961 of which are void Officers’ Families’ Quarters and 6,497 void Other Ranks Quarters The number of bedrooms in each void property is shown below: Number of bedroomsVoid properties21,94434,83041,610574 Information on the grading of service family accommodation under the 4 Tier Grading System has not been maintained since the introduction of the Combined Accommodation Assessment System (CAAS).  The grades of the void properties under the CAAS is shown below: Decent Homes StandardVoid propertiesDH+6,821DH948DH-685No Data4

Armed Forces: Housing

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much funding his Department has allocated for the provision of accommodation for armed forces families in the last three years.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The amount allocated by the Ministry of Defence for accommodation over the last three financial years (FY) is shown in the following table. Work typeFY2015-16FY2016-17FY2017-18TotalsCore Services[1] £82,724,000£74,199,000£82,152,000£239,075,000Improvements[2]£53,002,000£64,789,000£56,194,000£173,985,000Additional Works[3]£13,711,000£22,784,000£26,185,000£62,680,000Capital Purchases[4]£19,804,000£11,031,000£690,000£31,525,000Estimated Rent Costs£33,499,500£34,931,000£38,535,000£106,965,500Total£202,740,500£207,734,000£203,756,000£614,230.500 [1] Cores services covers routine repairs and maintenance, gas and electric safety checks.[2] Improvements covers installation of new kitchens and bathrooms in multiple Service Family Accommodation.[3] Includes adaptations, Combined Accommodation Assessment System surveys, professional services, asbestos removal, electrical testing, regional minor works, demolitions etc.[4] Capital Purchases covers buying new houses from developers.

Armed Forces: Recruitment

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent progress has been made on (a) bringing the defence recruiting system up to full operating capability and (b) meeting recruitment targets.

Mark Lancaster: Capita, working closely with all three single Services, has rectified all significant Defence Recruiting System (DRS) defects identified since it went live in November 2017. Some remaining issues relating to DRS interfaces with existing Ministry of Defence IT systems are not impacting on the ability of candidates to apply and join the Armed Forces and will be resolved soon. Application numbers have returned to pre-DRS levels. The Army recruited over 9,000 people (Regular and Reserves) in 2017-18 and application numbers continue to perform strongly, supported by the 'Belonging' marketing campaign. The focus is now on improving the application to enlistment conversion rate. Working with Capita, the Army has implemented a new operating model which is less centralised and provides increased support to candidates. The Army is also taking steps to reduce the time it takes a candidate to move from application to being allocated a training place.I continue to monitor the situation closely.

Veterans: Identity Cards

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has to provide military veterans with an identity card to enable them to access discounts on services offered by the private sector.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Ministry of Defence is reviewing a range of options to ensure a form of voluntary identification is made available. We will make a further announcement later this year.Veterans can already receive discounts on a range of services offered by the private sector through the Defence Discount Service. This scheme will continue and the Veterans ID card will not replace or replicate this service.

Veterans

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the timetable is for the next steps in his Department's veterans strategy; and what progress he has made in assisting those who (a) become homeless, (b) develop mental illness and (c) experience other personal crises.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Government's Veterans Strategy champions the changing needs of the ex-Service community. Although the initiative is overseen by the Ministry of Defence (MOD), a task force consisting of Ministers from HM Treasury, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), the Department for Education and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) will help support and implement the strategy.The strategy will build on the Armed Forces Covenant to show that our commitment to our Service personnel lasts long after they have left the Armed Forces.The MOD continues to engage with a wide variety of agencies who assist in homelessness and rough sleeping for veterans. Under the Armed Forces Covenant veterans and disabled personnel already have high priority access to social housing, including a five-year exemption for veterans after they have left the Services from proving a local connection to qualify for social housing.The MOD will be covered by the new MHCLG led statutory requirement scheduled to come into effect this autumn to refer those Service personnel at risk of homelessness when they leave the Armed Forces to the relevant local authority.It is the National Health Service in England and the Devolved Administrations that has the lead for the provision of healthcare, including mental healthcare, for veterans and we work with DHSC and the NHS to ensure a smooth transition for those Service personnel being discharged with mental health problems.Support and assistance is available for veterans, including those with personal crises, from MOD's Veterans UK free helpline (0808 1914 2 18), Veterans UK Veterans Welfare Service and the Veterans' Gateway.

Veterans: Radiation Exposure

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department is taking steps to recognise the long-term effects on military personnel of exposure to radiation as a result of nuclear testing on Christmas Island in the 1950s; and if the Government will provide financial support and health care to personnel affected.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Government continues to recognise and be grateful to all the Servicemen who participated in the British nuclear testing programme.Any veteran who believes they have suffered ill health due to Service is eligible to claim no-fault compensation under the War Pensions Scheme. War Pensions are payable in respect of illness or injury due to Service in Her Majesty's Armed Forces before 6 April 2005, with the benefit of reasonable doubt always given to the claimant. Decisions are medically certified and follow consideration of Service and medical evidence and carry full rights of appeal to an independent tribunal. Where the evidence supports a causal link to Service, entitlement will be given.In response to the health concerns of some nuclear test veterans in the 1980s, the Ministry of Defence commissioned three epidemiological studies into mortality and cancer incidence among nuclear test participants. These were conducted by the independent National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB), now part of Public Health England (PHE). Three analyses were carried out. The latest report published in 2003 concluded that overall levels of mortality and cancer incidence in Nuclear Test Veterans have continued to be like those in a matched Service control group and lower than in the general population. These findings form the basis of the War Pension Scheme policy on Nuclear Test Veteran claims.Plans are now advanced for a fourth phase of the study. Should this study produce new evidence it will be carefully evaluated and appropriately reflected in War Pensions policy on claims.

Armed Forces: Housing

Damien Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to assist armed forces personnel onto the housing ladder.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Forces Help To Buy (FHTB) scheme aims to encourage and support home ownership amongst Service personnel, which has historically been lower than the general population.Through FHTB Regular Service personnel can borrow up to 50% of their gross annual salary (to a maximum of £25,000) to buy their first home, move to another, or in exceptional circumstances extend an existing property. Since its introduction in 2014 FHTB has helped over 14,300 Service personnel purchase their own property.

Army Reserve: Recruitment

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the methodology is for allocating Army Reserve applicants to Reserve units.

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what role Capita has in allocating an Army Reserve applicant to a Reserve unit.

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which Army Reserve Units are awarded the highest priority for recruitment by Capita.

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which body is responsible for managing communication between Capita and the Army Reserve on recruitment.

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether contact between Capita and the Army Reserve during a recruitment process is conducted at (a) company/squadron, (b) battalion and (c) regimental level.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave her to Question 163772. The Army Recruiting and Initial Training Command (ARITC), within Home Command, is responsible for delivering recruitment to the Regular and Reserve Army through the Recruiting Partnering Project contract with Capita. ARITC oversees the Army Recruiting Group, which includes the National Recruitment Centre (NRC) and local Army Careers Centres, and is staffed by a mixture of Capita staff and Army personnel. When candidates initiate an application to join the Army Reserves through the NRC, they are matched with a unit based on their location and declared role preference. On some occasions a candidate will be encouraged to consider a specialist or pinch-point trade unit if they present the relevant qualifications and experience. Recruiting Group are in daily liaison with Reserve Units at all levels to support the recruitment process. 



163772 - Armed Forces Recruitment
(Word Document, 22.17 KB)

NATO: Expenditure

Mr Ranil Jayawardena: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent discussions he has had with his international counterparts on NATO's two per cent GDP spending target.

Gavin Robinson: I regularly discuss this important issue with my NATO counterparts, and it was a key part of the burden sharing discussions at the NATO Summit on 11-12 July.

Army: Recruitment

Mr Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many recruits were enlisted into the regular army in 2017-18.

Mark Lancaster: The number of personnel enlisted in to the Regular Army is available in the National Statistics quarterly Armed Forces Personnel Statistics at the link below:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/quarterly-service-personnel-statistics-2018

Air Force

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which elements of RAF squadrons and groups will form the proposed reformation of the Number 11 Group RAF.

Mark Lancaster: No. 11 Group of the Royal Air Force will provide command and control of air, space and cyber operations with a specific focus on UK based operations.The Group will have at its core the National Air and Space Operations Centre based at RAF High Wycombe, and will be able to direct capabilities in support of UK operations. Work is being conducted to finalise the details of other units and organisations in the composition of the Group.

Members: Correspondence

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he plans to respond to the letter of 21 June 2018 of the hon. Member for Greenwich and Woolwich on Woolwich Barracks.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: I responded to the hon. Member on 19 July 2018.

Armed Forces: Deployment

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to paragraph 77 of the July 2018 White Paper, The future relationship between the UK and the EU, Cm 9593, whether he plans to assign UK armed forces personnel to the European Union's Military Planning and Conduct Capability as part of the Government's proposals set out in that paragraph.

Mark Lancaster: There is currently one UK Service person working in the Military Planning and Conduct Capability cell. The relationship between the UK and the EU's Common Security and Defence Policy, including possible staffing arrangements, after we leave the EU is a matter for the negotiations.

Intelligence Services: International Cooperation

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to paragraph 80 of the July 2018 White Paper, The future relationship between the UK and the EU, Cm 9593, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on the operations of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance of UK involvement in EU operational planning.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The White Paper makes clear that the UK will continue to collaborate with European allies and partners on military and civilian operations around the world. Our Armed Forces are engaged in operations across the globe including with the EU. The UK has conducted this activity for many years alongside its long-standing commitments to the Five Eyes Intelligence enterprise. There are no indications that our proposed future relationship with the EU will have any effect on the Five Eyes relationship.

Defence: Modernisation

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Written Statement of 19 July 2018, Modernising Defence Programme - Update, HCWS883, for what reasons only headline conclusions from that programme have been published.

Gavin Williamson: The Ministry of Defence has consistently committed to sharing headline conclusions of the Modernising Defence Programme (MDP) before the summer. The Written Ministerial Statement I released on 19 July 2018 sets out those conclusions, and records the good progress that has been made since the launch of the programme in July.As planned, the MDP will now move into a period of more detailed analysis and cross-Government discussion. During this period, we will consider how and where to adjust our policies and plans in response to our initial findings. We will then share more detailed conclusions.

Defence: Modernisation

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Written Statement of 19 July 2018, HCWS883 on the Modernising Defence Programme, whether the publication of the Modernising Defence Programme is planned to be accompanied by an oral statement.

Gavin Williamson: We are working towards sharing more detailed conclusions from the Modernising Defence Programme. No decisions have been taken on what form that will take.

Defence: Modernisation

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Written Statement of 19 July 2018, HCWS883 on the Modernising Defence Programme, how many phases he intends the Modernising Defence Programme to have.

Gavin Williamson: The Modernising Defence Programme is an ongoing programme of work. It aims to deliver better military capability and value for money, so that Defence is configured to address the more complex threats we face, as well as achieving enduring affordability.Since its launch we have made good progress, as set out in the headline conclusions in the Written Statement published on 19 July (HCWS883). We are aiming to share more detailed conclusions following a further period of analysis and cross-Government discussion.

Defence: Modernisation

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Written Statement of 19 July 2018, HCWS883 on the Modernising Defence Programme, how much financial headroom his Department plans to find for additional modernisation.

Gavin Williamson: As articulated in the Written Ministerial Statement I released on 19 July (HCWS883), we are currently considering how to build on our already strong record, and drive greater efficiency through business modernisation. Only once we have done so will we be able to estimate the financial headroom that this will generate.

Defence: Modernisation

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Written Statement of 19 July 2018, HCWS883 on the Modernising Defence Programme, when his Department plans to publish a defence technology framework.

Gavin Williamson: The Defence Technology Framework will be central to the Ministry of Defence's modernisation effort. It will set out the Department's key technology priorities and drive a more coherent approach to technology experimentation and exploitation that will inform strategy, investment and planning decisions across Defence.The Department aims to publish the Framework in 2019 following appropriate consultation with our allies, national security partners across Government, and key suppliers in industry and academia.

Defence: Modernisation

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department's consultation on Modernising Defence Programme, which was launched on 5 March 2018, when his Department plans to publish the consultation outcome of that consultation.

Gavin Williamson: The Department intends to publish its response to the public consultation shortly.

Military Bases: Scotland

Kirstene Hair: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether recent reviews of the defence estate have identified any necessary improvements works to current accommodation in Scotland.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Ministry of Defence regularly assesses the condition of accommodation provided for Service personnel, including those based in Scotland. Necessary improvements are identified and prioritised, in discussion with the Front Line Commands, taking unit moves, site longevity and available resources into account.In this financial year, plans are in place to provide a full external refurbishment to some 30 Service Family Accommodation properties at Helensburgh.

Department for Work and Pensions

Social Security Benefits

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the effect is of a claimant refusing a job with a prospective employer where the terms and conditions on offer include a zero hours contract on that claimant's continued receipt of benefits.

Alok Sharma: Universal Credit (UC) radically transforms the welfare system by seeking to ensure not only that claimants are better off in work, but that they are better off working more hours and earning more money, helping them ultimately to become financially independent. Their UC payments adjust automatically depending on the amount they earn, so that they are financially supported and do not need to switch their benefit claim.UC claimants may be required to look for and accept jobs with a zero hours contract. Such contracts can be a beneficial and positive way for claimants to boost their income and gain valuable work experience. UC claimants are expected to take responsibility for meeting any mandatory conditionality requirements they have agreed and will be supported by their Work Coach throughout. If there is no reason why a claimant should not take a zero hours contract job and they refuse, they may be sanctioned. However, sanctions are only used in a minority of cases and that is when claimants fail to meet their conditionality requirements without good reason. Jobseeker's Allowance claimants are not required to apply for zero hours contract jobs.This is because of the impact that fluctuating earnings and hours may have on a claim – entitlement will end when a claimant earns more than a certain amount or works more than 16 hours in a week. This means they would then need to reclaim when lower, or no hours are offered, posing a real risk of gaps in income. This disincentive to take on flexible work, or work more hours, has been designed out of UC to ensure support for people whose hours fluctuate.

Department for Work and Pensions: Training

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many officials of her Department at each grade have undergone more than 12 hours of training on universal credit; and what estimate she has made of the number of officials at each grade who will have undertaken such training on the completion of the full roll-out of universal credit.

Alok Sharma: The information requested is not readily available, and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. However, a total of 33,561 colleagues have now undergone more than 12 hours of training on Universal Credit.Through ongoing training staff continuously develop their knowledge of the tools, skills, and behaviours required to provide a high quality service to all claimants. This learning includes facilitator-led learning and skills practice, supported by multimedia learning materials.

Personal Independence Payment: Multiple Sclerosis

Heidi Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of people with multiple sclerosis are no longer eligible for the higher rate of mobility support as a result of the transition from disability living allowance to personal independence payment since the roll-out of personal independence payment.

Sarah Newton: Holding answer received on 23 July 2018



The table below shows the level of mobility award claimants with Multiple Sclerosis received under Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and their level of mobility award following reassessment to Personal Independence Payment (PIP). Table: DLA to PIP Reassessment outcomes for claimants with Multiple Sclerosis  Outcome Following Reassessment to PIP Award Received Under DLAEnhanced Rate of MobilityStandard Rate of MobilityNo Mobility AwardTotalHigher Rate Mobility Component13,900(73%)3,100(16%)2,100(11%)19,100 Source: PIP Computer System claimant records and DLA Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study claimant data (1st October 2013 to 31st October 2017) Notes: 1. PIP Reassessment outcome shows the outcome of the first DWP decision on each reassessment claim (i.e. they reflect outcomes prior to any reconsideration appeal action and award review), where that decision was made between 1st October 2013 and 31st October 2017.2. For each individual who has a PIP reassessment outcome their PIP entitlement has been compared to their DLA entitlement at the time of their PIP reassessment registration.3. Main disabling condition used is the disability recorded on the DLA administrative system for each individual. This is used because disability information is recorded on the PIP computer systems only for the group of cases who have a PIP assessment report.4. Claimants may often have multiple disabling conditions upon which their entitlement decision is based but only the primary condition is shown in these statistics. It is possible that a reassessment claim could have a different main disabling condition recorded on the DLA and PIP systems.5. Figures include reassessment outcomes for individuals who were aged between 16 and 64 on 8th April 2013, and include both PIP Normal Rules and Special Rules for the Terminally Ill claims.6. Figures exclude claimants who failed to attend their assessment, were disallowed pre-referral or who withdrew their case.7. The breakdown of data provided is unpublished data. It should be used with caution and it may be subject to future revision.8. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.9. Totals may not sum due to rounding.10. Table percentages are given as row percentages.11. Great Britain only.

Personal Independence Payment

Heidi Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of claimants have received each length of personal independence payment award since its introduction.

Sarah Newton: Holding answer received on 23 July 2018



The table below shows the number of people who have been awarded Personal Independence Payment (PIP) for each award length between April 2013 and 30th April 2018.Table: PIP awards made between April 2013 and 30th April 2018, split by award length. Type of awardVolume of claimantsVolume as a percentage of totalOngoing Awards323,21018.1%Finite Awards1,458,25081.8% Of which:   1.5 years or lower 346,65023.8% 1.5 – 2.5 years496,26034.0% 2.5 – 3.5 years364,45025.0% 3.5 – 4.5 years92,3906.3% 4.5 – 5.5 years132,6309.1% 5.5 – 6.5 years9600.1% 6.5 – 7.5 years1900.0% 7.5 – 8.5 years9500.1% 8.5 – 9.5 years7100.0% 9.5 years or more*11,7200.8% Short term award11,3300.8%Total Awards1,781,470100%*The “9.5 years or more” group excludes ongoing awards. Source: PIP ADS Award lengths are calculated from the date of award of PIP to the review date. At the point of preparing this response, approximately 0.06% of all cleared claims do not have a recorded review date but are not ongoing awards so have been excluded from the table above. Figures are based on the first outcome recorded for each case and include both new claims and DLA reassessment claims assessed under normal rules. Special rules cases for the terminally ill are excluded from the above figures. Data has been rounded to the nearest 10 cases. This is unpublished data which should be used with caution and it may be subject to future revision. A claimant can receive a short term fixed award if their condition is expected to improve in the short term. Once this award ends, the benefit ends and no award review takes place. Ongoing awards do not have an end date, but will be subject to a light touch review at the 10 year point. We are currently amending the guidance to ensure that all those awarded the highest level of support under PIP, and who have needs which will stay the same or deteriorate, will receive and ongoing award with a light touch review at the 10 year point. The new guidance will be published later this summer.

Social Security Benefits: Asperger's Syndrome

Marion Fellows: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the effect of the replacement of Aspergers with Autistic Spectrum Disorder in the fifth edition of the Diagnosis and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders on the ability of people with Aspergers to claim personal independence payment and employment support allowance as a result of being required to secure a new diagnosis when proving that their condition affects their daily living.

Sarah Newton: The publication of the fifth edition of the Diagnosis and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders has had no impact on the eligibility criteria for Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) or for Personal Independence Payment (PIP). The Work Capability Assessment (WCA) is designed to determine an individual’s eligibility for ESA. It assesses individuals against a set of functional physical and mental health descriptors to assess how their health condition or disability affects their ability to work. Entitlement for PIP is assessed on the basis of the needs arising from a long-term health condition or disability, not the health condition or the disability itself.

Universal Credit

Ruth George: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many universal credit claimants have made contact with her Department to request a reduction in the amount deducted from their standard allowance; and how many of those requests were accepted.

Alok Sharma: The information requested does not exist in a format that allows it to be collated without incurring disproportionate cost. However, the Department recognises the importance of safeguarding the welfare of claimants who have incurred debt, and Universal Credit already has procedures and regulations in place protect claimants from excessive deductions.

Social Security Benefits: Disqualification

Dr Philippa Whitford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has made an assessment of the effect of benefit sanctions on the mental health of claimants.

Dr Philippa Whitford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he Department has made an assessment of the effect of the imposition on benefits sanctions on the mental health of claimants with an existing mental health condition.

Alok Sharma: No assessment has been made on the impact of benefit sanctions on the mental health of claimants. We engage at a personal and individual level with all of our claimants and are committed to tailoring support for specific individual needs, including agreeing realistic and structured steps to encourage claimants into the labour market. These conditionality requirements are regularly reviewed to ensure that they remain appropriate for the claimant. When considering whether a sanction is appropriate, a Decision Maker will take all the claimant’s individual circumstances, including any health conditions or disabilities and any evidence of good reason, into account before deciding whether a sanction is warranted.

Jobcentres: Peterlee

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 17 July 2018 on Question 163539 on Jobcentres: Peterlee, if he will undertake a review of the Peterlee Jobcentre Physical Security Survey in relation to (a) data protection and (b) the suitability of the open plan office.

Justin Tomlinson: DWP does not pass comment on physical security arrangements and vulnerabilities at any individual site. I can however advise that on every site, such security arrangements, including those for the protection of data held about our customers and their business, are subject to regular review and validation. DWP has been successfully conducting the vast majority of its business with customers in an open-plan environment for many years, and that is one of the many factors that feed into the design of appropriate security control measures for each location.

Universal Credit

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what her Department's key performance indicators are to assess whether the universal credit system is functioning effectively.

Alok Sharma: Rollout of Universal Credit Full Service is due to complete in December 2018, and, as of the end of July 2018 we will have completed 65% of this programme. Currently, we assess performance through analysis of key statistics as set out at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/universal-credit-statistics Universal Credit Full Service has added nearly 400,000 new claimants on the system since August 2017 and is on track for full rollout nationally by the end of 2018.

Slavery: National Insurance Contributions

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will credit to victims of modern slavery the National Insurance contributions that were unpaid during the period of their slavery.

Justin Tomlinson: The Department for Work and Pensions recognises the difficulties faced by people found to be victims of modern slavery. The Department is currently exploring potential ways to ensure people who are victims of modern slavery are not disadvantaged in respect of their National Insurance records.

Social Security Benefits: Domestic Violence

Marion Fellows: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support her Department provides to people fleeing abuse from their home where they have a financial interest such as a mortgage and are therefore unable to claim the housing benefit element of universal credit.

Justin Tomlinson: DWP has a range of measures designed to support people who flee abusive or violent households. These include easements to benefit conditionality to give claimants the space and time needed to stabilise their lives, special provisions in both Housing Benefit and Universal Credit housing support when a claimant is temporarily absent from their home through fear of violence, and exemptions from Child Maintenance fees. Work Coaches may also signpost and refer domestic violence victims to organisations that can provide further support. In particular, a claimant who leaves a mortgaged home due to domestic abuse or violence can continue to receive a support for mortgage interest (SMI) loan in respect of that property for up to 52 weeks, where they intend to return to the property, and were receiving an SMI loan at the time they fled the property. If the claimant has fled to a refuge, support for the rental costs is available from Housing Benefit, or if the claimant has fled and rented a general needs home, support for the housing costs is available from Universal Credit. In Universal Credit, support for housing costs is available for victims who take a new rent liability for up to 52 weeks, as the capital value of the home they have fled from is disregarded; or in Housing Benefit for those who have fled to a refuge, if the former home is occupied by a partner from whom the claimant is estranged, the capital value from the home is disregarded for up to 26 weeks.

Food Banks: North East

Mr Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an estimate of the number of people using food banks in the North East.

Justin Tomlinson: We do not record the number of people using food banks or other types of food aid. We are currently reviewing research carried out by organisations including the Trussell Trust, to add to our understanding of food bank use, and will consider requirements to add to our evidence base.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Non-native Species: EU Law

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make it his policy to replicate the EU Alien Species Regulation after the UK leaves the EU.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The government is preparing a Statutory Instrument that will implement the EU Invasive Species Regulation in the UK.

Non-native Species

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make it his policy to compile a list of priority species of concern of invasive species.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: As a member of the EU, we already have a list of 49 risk-assessed species of Union concern. Outside the EU, this list will be the starting point for the UK’s own list.

Birds: Imports

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to restrict the importation of wild-caught birds for the pet trade.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The sale and possession of wild birds native within the EU is prohibited by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Furthermore, EU regulation 139/2013 limits imports of birds from outside the EU, to only those which have been bred in captivity. This was originally put in place for bird health reasons but has wider implications for the trade and importation of birds.   The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), to which the UK is a signatory, protects endangered species by ensuring trade is environmentally sustainable. CITES is one of the key mechanisms through which the UK Government acts to protect endangered species of plants and animals, including birds.   Given the strength of the legislation already in place to control the trade and importation of wild birds there are no plans to regulate the trade further.

Poultry: Animal Welfare

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, to make an assessment of the potential merits of banning the use of electrical water bath systems for the stunning of poultry after the UK has left the European Union.

George Eustice: European Council Regulation (EC) No. 1099/2009 requires all animals to be stunned before slaughter using the methods and parameters listed in Annex 1 to the Regulation, which includes electrical waterbath stunning. The European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 will convert the existing body of EU animal welfare law into UK law.   According to a survey carried out by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) in 2013, 71% of poultry in GB were stunned using a gas stunning system with 25% being electronically stunned. Defra and Welsh Government have asked the FSA to carry out an updated version of the survey for 2018. We hope to publish the results of the survey later in the year.   We are committed to reviewing the legislation on protecting animals at the time of killing before 2020 and considering the extent to which the objectives of the legislation have been met.

Rabies

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to reintroduce rabies blood testing with an extended wait period before entering the UK after the UK has left the EU.

George Eustice: Defra takes the threat to public and animal health posed by animals entering the United Kingdom seriously and requires appropriate rabies vaccination for pet animals (cats, dogs and ferrets) entering the country, as well as other high risk species entering zoos or pets destined for the pet trade.   Pet travel between EU Member States and from some lower risk third countries requires a rabies vaccination followed by a 21 day waiting period. For third countries with higher rabies risk stricter rules apply involving a rabies titration test and waiting period. A quantitative risk assessment was carried out in 2011. They assessed the risk of a pet animal with rabies entering the UK under the EU pet travel rules as very low.   Defra has no plans to amend the rabies controls for pet animals, rabies susceptible species for zoos or the pet trade entering the United Kingdom but continues to monitor the disease situation and will undertake a further, formal risk assessment if the evidence indicates that one is warranted.

Pet Travel Scheme

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether it remains his Department's policy to maintain the conditions of the EU Pet Travel Scheme after the UK has left the EU.

George Eustice: Whilst we remain a member of the EU, we continue to be signed up to the requirements of the Pet Travel Scheme.   After we leave the EU we want pet owners to continue to be able to travel to and from the EU with the minimum of disruption whilst maintaining high biosecurity and welfare standards. The Government is negotiating our departure from the EU and Defra is working with the Department for Exiting the European Union to look at future arrangements, including those for the pet travel. We are also putting in place contingency arrangements in the event of a no-deal outcome.

Ticks

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to require (a) dogs and (b) cats to be treated for ticks before entering the UK after the UK has left the EU.

George Eustice: Defra is concerned about the risks of non-native tick species entering the UK, and in particular, the diseases that ticks can carry. Tick surveillance has shown that tick distribution and abundance is changing throughout the UK for many reasons, including habitat and climate change. Small numbers of localised infestations with non-native tick species have been reported in recent years, and imported rescue dogs have been demonstrated to be a higher risk for carrying ticks or being infected with tick-borne diseases. For these reasons, Defra strongly encourages pet owners to treat their pets to safeguard their animals against ticks and tick transmitted diseases when travelling abroad. Further advice can be obtained from their local vet, and via the Public Health England (PHE) leaflet available on GOV.UK.   Whilst Defra has no immediate plans to amend the tick controls for pet animals entering the United Kingdom, we remain concerned about the threat of ticks and tick-borne disease. As such, a risk assessment is being planned to guide future policy. Defra also continues to monitor the disease situation through the Tick Surveillance Scheme and encourages members of the public, health practitioners, veterinary practitioners, wildlife groups and others to submit ticks to the scheme, run by PHE.

Animals: Disease Control

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will made an assessment of the potential merits of reducing the timeframe for the treatment of tapeworm before entry into the UK from 120 hours to 48 hours after the UK has left the EU.

George Eustice: Defra takes the risk of the notifiable disease caused by the tapeworm, Echinococcus multiocularis, very seriously, because of the profound impact this could have on human health if it were to establish within the UK. When the UK harmonised with EU pet travel rules in 2012, Defra undertook a risk assessment and as a result maintained the requirement for tapeworm treatment, but decided to increase the treatment window in consideration of the likely increased level of compliance of a longer window. Since January 2012, the UK has remained free of Echinococcus.   Defra has no plans to amend the tapeworm controls for pet animals entering the United Kingdom but continues to monitor the disease situation through routine surveillance measures and will undertake a further, formal risk assessment if the evidence indicates that one is warranted.

Dogs: Imports

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many dogs have been imported into the UK via the Pet Travel Scheme in each year since its introduction.

George Eustice: The UK fully harmonised with the EU Pet Travel Scheme requirements in 2012. Data regarding the number of dogs entering Great Britain under the scheme from 2012-2017 can be found below.   YearDogs201213964320131520752014155444201516483620162758762017287016

Dogs: Imports

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many dogs have been imported using the Balai Directive in each year since its introduction; and if he will publish the number of dogs imported from each country of origin for each of those same years.

George Eustice: The UK fully harmonised with the requirements of the Balai Directive for dog movements in 2012. The data for dog imports under the Balai Directive from 2012 to 2017 can be found in the attached Annex.   This data was extracted from the Trade Control and Expert System (TRACES). In some cases imports are recorded on TRACES as ‘Canis familiaris / Felis catus’, so APHA is unable to distinguish between cat or dog imports. These are included in the table in the column ‘Mixed’. 



Annex - PQ 164962 - Balai Directive
(Excel SpreadSheet, 19.25 KB)

Agriculture: Subsidies

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will assess the potential merits of ensuring that farm support payments are dependent on farmers improving performance against animal welfare standards after the UK has left the EU.

George Eustice: We have some of the highest welfare standards in the world and will maintain these once we leave the EU. We have recently consulted on our future agricultural policy, which included proposing using public money to fund public goods including animal welfare. We are considering the responses and will publish a report of the findings in due course.

Water Supply

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the level of water stress in each water company area throughout England.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Environment Agency published the classification of water stress in England and Wales in July 2013 which updated the original assessment in 2007. The report can be found here:   https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/244333/water-stressed-classification-2013.pdf   The Environment Agency actively monitors the environment and water resources. The Agency has stepped up its monitoring since the dry weather last month including monitoring river flows and levels, groundwater levels, abstraction compliance and environmental impacts.

Water Companies: Assets

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the value of assets held by water companies throughout England in each year since 1989.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Ofwat’s estimate of the regulatory capital value (RCV) for each year between 1990/91 and 2016/17 is as follows.   Year 1990-911991-921992-931993-941994-951995-961996-97RCV £bn16.919.822.224.828.531.534.6 1997-981998-991999-002000-012001-022002-032003-042004-0537.640.242.342.943.745.446.948.0   2005-062006-072007-082008-092009-102010-112011-122012-1351.253.254.855.756.357.659.761.5 2013-142014-152015-162016-1762.863.162.663.8 The RCV is based on the market value of the companies at privatisation including any debt, and increases each year in line with new water and sewerage capital expenditure.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Brexit

Sue Hayman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the potential costs of setting up UK bodies to carry on the functions of EU agencies in his Department's area of responsibility in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

George Eustice: The cost of establishing UK bodies to carry on the functions of EU agencies is currently being considered as part of a comprehensive review of the services provided by the Defra group. We expect to be able to provide more detailed information about this, including costs, by the end of the year.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Brexit

Sue Hayman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what contingency budget his Department has been provided with in order to set up UK bodies to carry on the functions of EU agencies in his Department's area of responsibility in the event of the UK leaving the EU without an agreement.

George Eustice: HM Treasury provided Defra with additional funding to cover the activities required in 2018/19 to prepare for leaving the EU. Costs for the additional functions that may be required in future years will be considered as part of the review of medium term funding requirements for activities related to leaving the EU that Defra and other Departments will be working on with HM Treasury later this year.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Brexit

Sue Hayman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what arrangements are being made to secure accommodation for UK bodies set up to carry on the functions of EU agencies in his Department's area of responsibility in the event of the UK leaving the EU without an agreement.

George Eustice: The Defra group is working to ensure we have the capacity in the estate to accommodate an increased workforce, including the establishment of any potential new agencies. This includes considering the implications of the UK leaving the EU without an agreement.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Brexit

Sue Hayman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the potential costs of associate membership of EU agencies in his Department's area of responsibility when the UK leaves the EU.

George Eustice: The potential costs of associate membership of EU agencies, where applicable, will be considered as part of the review of medium term funding requirements for activities related to leaving the EU that Defra and other Departments will be working on with HM Treasury later this year.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Brexit

Sue Hayman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the (a) administration costs, (b) grant funding, (c) staff, (d) accommodation and (e) budget required by existing UK bodies to which he plans to transfer the functions of EU agencies in his Department's area of responsibility in the event of the UK leaving the EU without agreement.

George Eustice: The cost of establishing UK bodies and expanding the functions of existing bodies to carry on the functions of EU agencies is currently being considered as part of a comprehensive review of the services provided by the Defra group. We expect to be able to provide more detailed information about this, including costs, by the end of the year.

Alternative Fuels

Kirstene Hair: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the potential future use of alternative fuels to reduce emissions.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Department for Transport has published outputs of the transport energy model on www.gov.uk alongside the Road to Zero Strategy (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reducing-emissions-from-road-transport-road-to-zero-strategy).   The transport energy model assesses the energy consumption, air quality pollutant emissions and greenhouse gas emissions of a range of road transport fuels and technologies.

Special Protection Areas

Anna Turley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to Answer of 15 June 2018 to Question 152799 and Answer of 02 July 2018 to Question 157791 on Special Protection Areas: Birds, on what date her Department received the results of the public consultations and associated recommendations of Natural England for the Flamborough and Filey Coast, the Bowland Fells and the Solent and Dorset Coast potential Special Protection Areas; what the other site designation priorities were that have caused delays to the decision to classify each site; and if he will make a statement.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Government received the results of the public consultations and associated recommendations of Natural England on the following dates:   Flamborough and Filey Coast (site extension) - 27 March 2015Bowland Fells (addition of lesser black backed gull) - 27 November 2014Solent and Dorset Coast (new marine site) – 16 June 2017   The Secretary of State has since agreed to classify the extensions of the Flamborough and Filey Coast potential Special Protection Areas, which will be formally classified in due course.   The decision to formally classify the other two sites will be made following consideration of the respective public consultations, which informed a need to undertake a further review of the evidence base.   Formal classification of these sites will also need to take account of other designation priorities, which are published on GOV.UK here: www.gov.uk/government/publications/natural-england-designations-programme-for-areas-sites-and-trails/natural-englands-designations-programme-to-march-2017

Electronic Training Aids

Mr John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential effect of a ban on electronic collars in containment systems on the number of domestic cats killed on the road.

George Eustice: Defra recently consulted on a proposal to ban the use of electronic training collars on dogs and cats and invited respondees to provide evidence on potential impacts as a result of such a ban. Defra is currently analysing the responses to the consultation.

Booker Group: Tesco

Mr John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of the Booker takeover by Tesco on small farmers and growers.

George Eustice: The Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) has a duty to assess the effect of mergers on competition. Last year the CMA investigated the anticipated acquisition of Booker by Tesco and concluded that this merger does not raise any competition concerns.

Home Office

Fire Prevention

Karen Lee: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has made an assessment of the capacity of his Department's workforce to produce a new statutory fire regulatory framework.

Mr Nick Hurd: Dame Judith Hackitt’s report calls for major reform of the regulatory system and for culture change across the construction and fire safety industries. The government agreed with the broad principles of the report and committed to bring forward legislation.The Home Office and Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government are working with partners to consider the detail of Dame Judith’s recommendations and will set out an implementation plan in the autumn.

Police: Disciplinary Proceedings

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information his Department holds on disciplinary actions that have been taken against police in relation to alleged police mishandling of fox hunting prosecutions since 2005.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office does not hold the information requested centrally.The Home Office collects and publishes information on the outcomes of misconduct meetings, misconduct hearings and criminal investigations in the police service, following a public complaint or internal conduct allegation. However, the Home Office does not collect any information on the incident or reasons that led to a misconduct matter arising.Data on the outcomes of misconduct meetings, hearings, and criminal investigations in 2016/17 can be found in the misconduct section of the ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-workforce-england-and-wales-30-september-2017

Home Office: Telephone Services

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will take steps to ensure that UK residents are not charged the rate applied to non-UK residents over and above network charges to access his Department's spousal visa helpline.

Caroline Nokes: For overseas customers, UK Visas and Immigration have a chargeable call rate of £1.37 per minute.For UK Visas and Immigration in–country customers, contact centres provide information about the Immigration Rules and the Points Based System requirements via a number of published customer enquiry line numbers. In 2014, in line with Cabinet Office guidance, UKVI changed all 0845 and 0870 prefix helpline numbers to lower call tariff rate 0300 prefix numbers. UKVI do not generate any income from these non-geographic numbers enquiry lines.UKVI have self selection pages on the Gov.uk website (see link below), and informative telephony messages on our help lines to further ensure and assist customers wanting to contact UKVI. This initial triaging activity on our website allows customers to identify the correct point of contact within our business regarding their in country or overseas application enquiry.https://www.gov.uk/contact-ukvi-inside-outside-uk

Animal Experiments

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Government is seeking continued access to the European Union Reference Laboratory for Alternatives to Animal Testing after the UK has left the EU.

Caroline Nokes: Border Force delivery against Service Level Agreements, along with other performance indicators, is kept under constant review. Border Force seeks to provide an effective service at the border by achieving the right balance in its contribution to both the security and prosperity of the UK; objectives considered as complimentary and mutually supportive.The Government is open to working with partners to enhance Border Force capability, whether that is through better targeted interventions, or improved service standards.

Litter

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Community Protection Notices have been issued for littering in England in each year since the enactment of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.

Victoria Atkins: This information is not held. The Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 provides the police and local authorities with a range of flexible powers that they can use to tackle anti-social and nuisance behaviour. The Home Office does not collect information on why or how often these powers are used by local agencies.

National DNA Database Strategy Board

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he plans to publish the National DNA Database Strategy Board Annual Report for 2017-2018.

Mr Nick Hurd: The intention is to publish the 2017/2018 annual report in early 2019.

UK Border Force: Standards

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of passengers have waited longer than the Border Force service standard target time at UK (a) ports and (b) airports in each year since 2010.

Caroline Nokes: Border Force service standards are that 95% of British and other European Economic Area (EEA) passengers, from the point they join an immigration queue, are seen by an officer within 25 minutes. For non-EEA passengers, the service standard is that 95% of passengers are seen by an officer within 45 minutes.We do not publish data on performance at individual ports. Published data on the clearance of passengers at the border from 2014 to present day can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications?departments%5B%5D=home-office&publication_type=transparency-dataData from 2010 to 2013 can be found at http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130326215821/http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/about-us/corporate-publications/business-plan/business-plan-2012-15-data/borders-and-immigration-data?view=HtmlData relating to Border Force activity at Heathrow is published on the Heathrow Airport website at https://www.heathrow.com/company/company-news-and-information/performance/airport-operations/border-force

UK Border Force: Standards

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent estimate he has made of the number of passengers cleared within Border Force service standards at UK (a) ports and (b) airports in each year since 2010.

Caroline Nokes: Border Force service standards are that 95% of British and other European Economic Area (EEA) passengers, from the point they join an immigration queue, are seen by an officer within 25 minutes. For non-EEA passengers, the service standard is that 95% of passengers are seen by an officer within 45 minutes.We do not publish data on performance at individual ports. Published data on the clearance of passengers at the border from 2014 to present day can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications?departments%5B%5D=home-office&publication_type=transparency-dataData from 2010 to 2013 can be found at http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130326215821/http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/about-us/corporate-publications/business-plan/business-plan-2012-15-data/borders-and-immigration-data?view=HtmlData relating to Border Force activity at Heathrow is published on the Heathrow Airport website at https://www.heathrow.com/company/company-news-and-information/performance/airport-operations/border-force

UK Border Force: Staff

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Border Force officers there were in (a) 2012 and (b) as of 17 July 2018.

Caroline Nokes: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given to the Hon. Member for Westmorland and Lonsdale on the 7th February 2017, UIN 60627 for staffing from 2012 to 2015. The latest published staffing figures for Border Force can be found in the Home Office Annual Report for 2016 - 17. Refer to link below:FY2016/17 – Page 66https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-office-annual-report-and-accounts-2016-to-2017Data for staffing levels in 2017/18 will be available when the Annual Report for 2017–18 is published

UK Border Force: Staff

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the effect of changes in Border Force officers numbers on their effectiveness since 2012.

Caroline Nokes: The Home Office has always been clear that Border Force has the resources it needs to secure the border. Border Force’s core resource is not an indicator of our officers’ ability to keep our borders secure.Border Force has a strategic workforce planning process enabling effective identification of resourcing needs, capability requirements and the diversity ambitions. The ever-changing and complex challenges Border Force faces means its workforce is becoming increasingly multi-skilled, dynamic and flexible. Our deployment model allows staff to be deployed to areas of greatest need at short notice, with expertise in modern slavery and trafficking, detection of prohibited goods, deep rummage of commercial vessels and forgery detection.The effectiveness of the border should be considered as part of an end to end process starting upstream and continuing in country with a variety of capabilities and intervention points before, at and after the physical border working with a number of other law enforcement agencies, international partners and industry.

UK Border Force: Finance

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the UK Border Force budget was in (a) 2012 and (b) 2018.

Caroline Nokes: Border Force Budget can be found in the main estimates for 2012-13 and 2018-19. Refer to links below:FY2018/19 – Page 75https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/701024/main_estimates_2018-19_print.pdfFY2012/13 – Page 230https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/205092/Main_parliamentary_supply_estimates_2012-13.pdf

UK Border Force

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to ensure that UK Border Force is adequately prepared for new customs checks and controls when the UK leaves the EU.

Caroline Nokes: Government departments are working together across a range of complex issues to develop our future approach at the border. These options will be kept under review in light of negotiations with the EU.An EU Exit programme has been stood up within Border Force with responsibility for drawing together all of the necessary plans for Border Force to prepare for EU Exit, and the successful delivery of those plans.As part of our preparations Border Force is recruiting 300 frontline officers to allow existing staff to be trained in new requirements ahead of EU Exit.This is separate from the recruitment of up to 1,000 Border Force officers, which is to meet a range of business needs, including meeting the normal staff turnover associated with a large operational business such as Border Force. It will also support Border Force to respond flexibly to emerging requirements, including any future requirements as a result of EU Exit.

UK Border Force

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union on ensuring that UK Border Force is adequately prepared for new customs checks and controls when the UK leaves the EU.

Caroline Nokes: The UK Government’s planning for EU exit will ensure border security is maintained as well as making the trading process as frictionless as possible in any scenario.Home Office Ministers meet regularly with Ministers across Government to develop our future approach at the border.

Immigration: Windrush Generation

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent estimate his Department has made of the length of time the Windrush taskforce will require to determine whether affected individuals should receive compensation.

Caroline Nokes: The Government has made it clear we intend to put in place a compensation scheme quickly and carefully to redress what has gone wrong.On 19 July, we launched the Windrush Compensation Consultation. The consultation period will run for 12 weeks ending on 11 October.I would encourage people to respond to the consultation, to help inform the design of the schemeFollowing consultation, the scheme will open as soon as possible.

Immigration Controls: Biometrics

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment his Department has made of (a) the effectiveness of ePassport gates in accelerating the border process at UK airports, and (b) potential steps to increase usage of those gates.

Caroline Nokes: The ePassport gates allow Border Force to extract detailed Management Information to allow for regular monitoring of their performance. From this data it has been established that one bank of 10 ePassport gates requiring the support of 2-3 Border Force officers, can process 1200 passengers per hour. It would require 10 Border Force officers to process the same amount of passengers in that timeframe, using manual controls. Since their inception the ePassport gates have processed over 160 million passengers and are now processing approximately 50 million incoming passengers a year accounting for >50% of aviation passenger arrivals per yearBorder Force continually looks to increase passenger throughput at the ePassport gates, working with Port Operators to improve queuing, hosting and way finding. Among the initiatives already in place to increase usage has been; the expansion of the Registered Traveller Service , now available to 40 countries and the introduction of the 12-17 scheme to allow accompanied children aged 12-17 to use the ePassport gates.

Immigration Controls: Airports

Stuart C. McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his Answer of 6 July 2018 to Question 160244 on Immigration Controls: Airports, if he will publish that data in the same format as his response to Freedom of Information request reference 41762.

Caroline Nokes: There are currently no plans to include this data as part of our Transparency data publications.

UK Border Force: Airports

Stuart C. McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will change his service level agreements with UK Border Force in response to findings from the Airport Operators Association that passengers expect to wait less than half the current maximum waiting time at passport control.

Caroline Nokes: Border Force delivery against Service Level Agreements, along with other performance indicators, is kept under constant review. Border Force seeks to provide an effective service at the border by achieving the right balance in its contribution to both the security and prosperity of the UK; objectives considered as complimentary and mutually supportive.The Government is open to working with partners to enhance Border Force capability, whether that is through better targeted interventions, or improved service standards.

Immigrants: Detainees

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many cases there were of people being identified as an adult at risk in immigration detention between 1 August 2017 and 10 July 2018 by (a) level of risk and (b) month.

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people identified as an adult at risk between 1 August 2017 and 10 July 2018 resulted from a Rule 35 Report by (a) levels of risk and (b) month.

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many decisions to release people identified as an adult at risk from immigration detention were made between 1 August 2017 and 10 July 2018, by (a) levels of risk and (b) month.

Caroline Nokes: The way adults at risk data is currently recorded for provisional management information is under review and therefore data is particularly susceptible to change. At this time, the information requested could only be obtained and quality assured at a disproportionate cost.Individuals can be identified as being at risk in detention in a number of different ways, the Rule 35 reporting process is one of which. Centralised records do not currently determine the numbers of individuals that have been identified as an adult at risk as a result of a Rule 35 specifically and this information could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Home Office: Members

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 5 July 2018 to Question 161101, Home Office: Members, whether his Department is satisfied that an MP has the authority to act for a constituent when consent is given verbally by that individual.

Caroline Nokes: The Home Office accepts an MP has the authority to act for a constituent when consent is given verbally by that individual.

Detention Centres: Children

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many children have been held in immigration detention centres in the UK in each of the last eight years.

Caroline Nokes: The Home Office publish data on the number of children entering detention by year and quarter. The data is available in tables dt_02 and dt_02_q of the detention tables.The latest available data are published in ‘Immigration Statistics, year ending March 2018’ at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/709326/detention-mar-2018-tables.ods

Wales Office

EU Grants and Loans: Wales

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, if he will list all the consultation events or meetings he has had with (a) the Welsh Assembly, (b) Welsh local authorities, (c) Welsh businesses, (d) Welsh hon. Members and (e) any other Welsh stakeholders on the proposed UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

Alun Cairns: I have regular meetings with stakeholders across Wales on matters related to the UK’s Exit from the EU, including on the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. It is important we take time to consider the legitimate concerns of businesses, the voluntary sector and communities around the excessive bureaucracy of the current system, and use them to design a fund that works for the whole of the UK, as well as its constituent parts.

Cabinet Office

Procurement: Commonwealth

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister for theCabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of setting targets for increased public procurement from Commonwealth nations after the UK withdraws from the EU.

Oliver Dowden: The Crown Commercial Service and the department for International Trade are leading a programme of work to ensure the UK continues to benefit from reciprocal access to international public procurement markets after we leave the EU.This includes seeking independent UK membership of the WTO Government Procurement Agreement (GPA), a plurilateral agreement between 19 parties, including Canada and New Zealand. The GPA mutually opens government procurement markets between its parties, and addresses trade barriers, such as preferential treatment of domestic goods and services, in the government procurement sector.

Government Departments: Telephone Services

Chris Stephens: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 23 May 2018 to Question 136078, what further discussions he has had with (a) Cabinet colleagues and (b) Ofcom on access by third party telephone providers to Government helplines which are advertised as free to customers but for which customers find themselves charged by that third party provider; and if he will take steps to prohibit such access by third party telephone providers who so charge.

Oliver Dowden: Government Helpline services are procured from a wide range of Telecommunication providers in the UK. These services are contracted by Government to the telecommunication market in accordance with both Ofcom regulations and data protection legislation. As such, third party telecommunications providers are an integral part of the Government supply chain.

Carillion: Insolvency

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 11 July 11 2018 to Question 160693, how many public sector construction contracts formerly held by Carillion have not yet been re-brokered to new companies.

Oliver Dowden: There are no public sector construction contracts formerly held by Carillion still to be transitioned to new companies.

Sick Leave: Mental Illness

Imran Hussain: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the number of days of sick leave taken for reasons of mental health in each year since 2010.

Chloe Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA response 
(PDF Document, 66.53 KB)

Department for Exiting the European Union

Trade

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, with reference to paragraph 7(a) of the White Paper, The future relationship between the UK and the EU, Cm 9593, which rules will be included in the category of  necessary to provide frictionless trade at the border.

Suella Braverman: As set out in the White Paper, we are proposing a UK-EU free trade area for goods, underpinned by an upfront commitment to a common rulebook on goods, including agri-food, and a Facilitated Customs Arrangement to avoid customs checks and controls at our borders. In the case of manufactured goods, this encompasses all rules that could be checked at the border, as they set the requirements for placing manufactured goods on the market. For agricultural products, food and drink, this includes relevant Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) rules, but excludes those which relate to wider food policy or domestic production.

Overseas Trade: Trade Agreements

Damien Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what  assessment he has made of the effect of negotiations on regulatory alignment for goods with the EU on the ability of the UK to agree new international trade deals.

Mr Robin Walker: Each Free Trade Agreement negotiation entails a different balance of commitments, with less generous commitments in one area requiring more generous provisions elsewhere. Under the proposal set out in our White Paper, the UK could make commitments to third country trading partners in a number of areas, while ensuring continued frictionless UK-EU trade: for example, on rules that set marketing and labelling requirements for agri-food products. The UK could also agree mutual recognition of conformity assessments with third-countries, allowing the UK to recognise that a third country’s testing bodies can properly assess products against UK regulatory standards and vice versa. This is at the ambitious end of existing free trade agreements. We will also be an independent WTO member and able to set our own goods tariffs. Beyond goods, we will be able to negotiate in areas of real importance to our economy, such as services and digital.

Brexit

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, with reference to paragraph 140 of the White Paper, The future relationship between the UK and the EU, Cm. 9593, published on 12 July 2018, which EU laws are included in the common rulebook with the EU on technical rules for electricity trading.

Suella Braverman: The UK would need a common rulebook with the EU on the technical rules for electricity trading, such as the market coupling mechanism. The precise contents of the common rulebook will be subject to negotiation.

Brexit

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, with reference to paragraph 5 of Chapter Four of the White Paper, The future relationship between the UK and the EU, Cm. 9593, published on 12 July 2018, what the proposed agreements with the EU are which are there referred to; and which of those agreements are expected to be legally binding.

Suella Braverman: As set out in Paragraph 5 of Chapter 4, the details of each individual agreement will be subject to negotiation with the EU. Some will be legally binding, for instance, components of the economic partnership such as a core Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and various agreements that will comprise the security partnership. Whether an agreement should be legally binding is ultimately dependent on the substance, which can only be determined through negotiations.

Brexit

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, with reference to sub-paragraph 25(a) of Chapter Four of the White Paper, The future relationship between the UK and the EU, Cm. 9593, published on 12 July 2018, by what means he plans to achieve the goal of consistent interpretation of the common rulebook.

Suella Braverman: In those areas where the UK agrees to retain a common rulebook, it will be important for businesses and citizens that they are interpreted and applied consistently. To ensure this, the UK has proposed that: its courts will pay due regard to the relevant Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) case law when deciding a case relating to these rules; and where there is a dispute between the UK and the EU, the Joint Committee or an independent arbitration panel will be able to ask the CJEU to give an interpretation of a common rule. This is a recognition of legal fact - no other court can bind the EU on the meaning of EU law. The UK has also proposed that the Joint Committee should keep under review the case law of both the senior courts of the UK and the CJEU, where this was relevant to the interpretation of the agreements. If significant divergences were found between respective courts’ interpretation of the agreements, the Joint Committee could be empowered to act to preserve the consistent interpretation of the agreements.

Brexit

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, with reference to sub-paragraph 30(a)(ii) of Chapter Four of the White Paper, The future relationship between the UK and the EU, Cm. 9593, published on 12 July 2018, what those rebalancing measures are.

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, with reference to sub-paragraph 30(b)(iv) of Chapter Four of the White Paper, The future relationship between the UK and the EU, Cm. 9593, published on 12 July 2018, what those rebalancing measures are.

Suella Braverman: Rebalancing measures would be designed to mitigate any imbalance created when one party has a different set of rules that create a competitive advantage. As set out in sub- para 30(a)(ii) and 30(b)(iv) one such example would be financial compensation. Ultimately measures are a matter for negotiation.

Brexit

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, with reference to sub-paragraph 30(b)(iii) of Chapter Four of the White Paper, The future relationship between the UK and the EU, Cm. 9593, published on 12 July 2018, what the independent arbitration mechanism will be.

Suella Braverman: As set out in section 4.5.1 of the White Paper, the UK has proposed that in those few circumstances where informal discussion does not resolve a particular issue, a formal dispute should be raised in the Joint Committee.Should efforts to resolve a dispute by negotiation fail after a defined period of time, it would make sense in some cases for either party to have the option of referring the issue to an independent arbitration panel, which would include members from both parties. The precise arrangements for the arbitration mechanism will be subject to negotiations with the EU.

Department for Exiting the European Union: Staff

Jenny Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many civil servants his Department has employed in each month since July 2016.

Suella Braverman: All departments are equipping themselves with the resources they need to get the best deal for the UK. The Department for Exiting the European Union now has over 650 staff based in the UK plus the expertise of over 120 officials in Brussels. We regularly review headcount to ensure we are appropriately staffed to deal with all aspects of the negotiations. The Department is continuing to recruit the brightest and the best and we are not providing a running commentary as recruitment is ongoing and numbers are regularly changing.

Brexit

Jo Platt: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, with reference to paragraph 16b on page 17 of the white paper, The Future Relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union, cm. 9593, what conversations he has had with international broadcasters who hold UK bases on the security of jobs and investment after the UK has left the EU.

Mr Robin Walker: The Government has been working closely with the creative and broadcasting industries to understand the impacts and opportunities presented by our decision to leave the EU, as well as discussing with them an early sector deal as part of the Industrial Strategy to secure the sector’s future prosperity and growth. We continue to be supportive of the international broadcasting industry and we will ensure that it can continue to thrive after we leave the EU. The UK and the EU included broadcasting in the joint list of topics for discussions on the Future Framework, which reflects our shared understanding of the importance of broadcasting. We will continue to press for the best arrangements for the sector. The definition of European Works is set out in the AVMSD, and includes works from Member States and countries that have signed and ratified the Council of Europe’s Convention on Transfrontier Television. As the definition of European works is not an EU definition, the UK will retain its valuable European works status post exit.

Freight and Ports

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what assessment he has made of the effect of the Government's withdrawal agreement on freight transport and UK ports.

Chris Heaton-Harris: Significant progress has been made on the Withdrawal Agreement, including reaching agreement at the March European Council on the legal text relating to the terms of an implementation period. This will start on 30 March 2019 and last until 31 December 2020. During the implementation period, the UK will no longer be a Member State of the European Union, but market access will continue on current terms. Common rules will remain in place until the end of the period meaning businesses will be able to trade on the same terms as now up until the end of 2020. The Government recognises the importance to the country’s economy for trade fluidity through the UK’s key ports. We want to ensure that traders, intermediaries and freight forwarders can continue to move goods through ports as quickly and seamlessly as they do now. We have set up a Border Delivery Group to bring together individual departmental plans, forming an overall picture and plan of what we need to do at borders.

Freight and Driving

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what progress he has made on agreements for (a) bi-lateral and (b) multi-lateral haulage and driving permits after the UK leaves the EU.

Chris Heaton-Harris: On 7 June, following discussions with the EU, the UK published ’Framework for the UK-EU Partnership - Transport’, setting out UK proposals for the future UK-EU relationship. This was reiterated in the recently published White Paper on the Future Relationship Between the UK and the EU, which made clear that the UK wants to explore options for a reciprocal access deal for road hauliers and passenger transport operators. There is a strong mutual interest in reaching an ambitious agreement, which maximises benefits for all our citizens and businesses. The Haulage Permits and Trailer Registration Act 2018 received Royal Assent on 19 July and provides for powers to introduce a permitting system in the event that this were needed. This is part of wider government preparations to ensure the UK can deliver a smooth and orderly Brexit.

Customs and Freight

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what discussions he plans to have with representatives of the (a) Freight Transport Association and (b) Trades Unions on the Government's plans for (i) customs arrangements and (ii) freight and haulage in the UK after the UK leaves the EU.

Chris Heaton-Harris: Government Ministers and officials meet frequently with key stakeholders, including the Freight Trade Association and Trade Unions, as part of our comprehensive engagement on EU exit. In the recently published White Paper on the Future Relationship Between the UK and the EU, the Government set out that we will explore options for a reciprocal access deal for road hauliers and passenger transport operators. There is a strong mutual interest in reaching an ambitious agreement, which maximises benefits for all our citizens and businesses. We will continue to work with industry to ensure that the interests of the logistics sector are properly reflected as we start to negotiate our withdrawal from the EU. The White Paper sets out a new proposal for a Facilitated Customs Arrangement (FCA). The FCA is a business-friendly model that seeks to facilitate the greatest possible trade between the UK and its trading partners, whether in Europe or rest of world, while allowing the UK to set its own tariffs. The Government will continue to work with the FTA and other key stakeholders to resolve the remaining areas of detail.The Government is committed to continuing to engage with stakeholders to ensure that their views and concerns are fully understood and taken into account and to ensure that our planning is effective and practical.

Ports

James Frith: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, when and how the Government plans to set out its contingency plans to tackle delay and disruption at UK ports to ensure that (a) security is unaffected (b) the welfare of logistics workers is fully considered and (c) UK industries reliant on just-in-time deliveries importing fresh produce are not adversely affected as a consequence of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

Chris Heaton-Harris: As any responsible government should we are continuing to prepare for a range of outcomes, including the unlikely scenario in which no mutually satisfactory agreement can be reached. We have been clear in our objective to ensure that movement through ports remains as frictionless as possible, whatever the outcome of the negotiations with the EU. As the Prime Minister and Secretary of State set out in Parliament on 18th July, the government will be publishing a set of technical notices throughout August and September to help businesses and citizens prepare for March 2019 in the event of a ‘no deal’ scenario.

Business and Families

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, pursuant to the oral evidence of the Prime Minister of 18 July 2018 to the Liaison Committee, when the Government plans to publish 70 technical notices for businesses and families setting out how to prepare for a no-deal scenario for the UK leaving the EU; and how many of those notes have been completed.

Chris Heaton-Harris: Securing a deal with our EU partners remains our top priority and we are confident in doing so, but we have a duty to plan for alternatives. We will therefore be providing further information on our plans for a range of exit scenarios in order to guide businesses and the public on how they can best prepare for our exit from the EU. To this end, the Government will be publishing around 70 technical notices throughout August and September.

Business and Families

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, pursuant to the oral evidence of the Prime Minister of 18 July 2018 to the Liaison Committee, if he will publish the titles of the 70 technical notices for businesses and families setting out how to prepare for a no-deal scenario for the UK leaving the EU.

Chris Heaton-Harris: As set out in Parliament on July 18 the Government will be publishing around 70 technical notices over the coming months to help businesses and citizens prepare for March 2019 in the unlikely event of a ‘no deal’ scenario. These will be published throughout August and September and will be available on gov.uk in a centralised location that is easy for people to access and use. There will be further detail on the content of these notices in due course.

Treasury

UK Trade with EU

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 161 of the White Paper, The future relationship between the UK and the EU, Cm. 9593, published on 12 July 2018, what the evidential basis is for the statement that only 4 per cent of the UK goods trade would be likely to use the tariff repayment mechanism.

Mel Stride: The government is seeking to maximise the number of traders who will not need to interact with a voluntary repayment mechanism. For businesses that would be eligible for a tariff repayment, the government assesses that this would lead to neither net costs nor job losses for these businesses. This is because businesses would only enter into the voluntary repayment mechanism if they stand to benefit overall from the UK’s independent trade policy. The Government assesses that the eligibility for a repayment is most likely relevant to imports of intermediate goods from non-EU countries for which a tariff differential could arise which is equivalent to around 4% of total UK trade in goods. Further detail is set out in section 1.2.1 of the publication.The government estimates that approximately 4% of UK goods trade in 2017 was of imports of intermediate goods from non-EU countries for which tariff differentials with the EU could arise from the UK’s independent trade policy. This trade will be most likely to use the repayment mechanism, since intermediate goods typically have longer and more complex supply chains than finished goods and are less likely to know their final destination or use at the point of import.The remaining 96% is either: (i) trade with the EU or exports to non-EU countries, for which the tariff differentials at the UK border are not relevant under the FCA; (ii) imports which are unlikely to see tariff differentials with the EU, since they imported under zero MFN tariffs, from existing EU FTA partners or from LDCs; or (iii) imports of finished goods, which we assume will be able to pay the correct tariff at the UK border.

UK Trade with EU

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 161 of the White Paper, The future relationship between the UK and the EU, Cm. 9593, published on 12 July 2018, what the types of goods are which are likely to be included in the 4 per cent of the UK goods trade which will need to use the tariff repayment mechanism.

Mel Stride: The government estimates that approximately 4% of UK goods trade in 2017 was of imports of intermediate goods from non-EU countries for which tariff differentials with the EU could arise from the UK’s independent trade policy. This trade will be most likely to use the repayment mechanism, since intermediate goods typically have longer and more complex supply chains than finished goods and are less likely to know their final destination or use at the point of import. Examples of intermediate products that may use the repayment mechanism include car parts such as car batteries, machinery parts and industrial chemicals.

UK Trade with EU

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 161 of the White Paper, The future relationship between the UK and the EU, Cm. 9593, published on 12 July 2018, what the timetable is for setting up the systems needed to run the tariff repayment mechanism.

Mel Stride: The precise details of the Facilitated Customs Arrangement – and therefore the delivery timescales - are subject to negotiations with the EU. The Government is accelerating its preparations to ensure that our new customs arrangement can be in place as soon as possible. Current implementation timelines suggest there will need to be a phased approach to delivery of the FCA.

Brexit

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 162 of the White Paper, The future relationship between the UK and the EU, Cm. 9593, published on 12 July 2018, what are the risk and intelligence-based checks.

Mel Stride: Under the Facilitated Customs Arrangement, where there is a material risk of circumvention of higher UK tariffs, the UK would make it illegal to pay the wrong tariff. To check that the right tariffs are being paid, HMRC would carry out risk-based and targeted checks across the country, rather than at the border, according to intelligence and threat assessment that draw on a variety of information sources. This would protect against fraud, ensure that the UK has an effective trade remedies regime and strengthen the UK’s position in trade negotiations. HMRC has a strong track record in tackling all kinds of avoidance, evasion and non-compliance and already has an established approach to customs compliance involving pre and post clearance activity away from the border, and would use this approach for the Facilitated Customs Arrangement.

Hydrogen: Motor Vehicles

Alex Cunningham: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to include hydrogen refuelling stations within the scope of the Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund.

Robert Jenrick: The purpose of the Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund is to catalyse private sector investment into the electric vehicle chargepoint network. There are separate interventions to support the uptake of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and roll out more cutting edge infrastructure. This includes funding which will see additional hydrogen refuelling stations being built as well as upgrades to existing refuelling infrastructure. In addition, government funding has supported the opening of the UK’s first integrated forecourt hydrogen refuelling station at the Shell Beaconsfield site, making it the first location in the country selling hydrogen fuel as well as petrol and diesel.

Treasury: Accountancy

Jon Trickett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 13 July 2018 to Question 161102, what services have been provided to his Department by the Big Four accountancy firms over the last twelve months.

Robert Jenrick: The services provided cover training, project management, consultancy and accountancy.

Cryptoassets Taskforce

Mr Alister Jack: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the timeframe is for the first publication from the Cryptoassets Taskforce.

John Glen: The Cryptoassets Taskforce will publish a report in Q3 2018. The first meeting of the Taskforce was held on May 21st, and attended by senior leaders from government and the financial regulators, including the Director General of Financial Services at HM Treasury, a Deputy Governor of the Bank of England, and the Chief Executive of the Financial Conduct Authority.[1] Officials from across all three organisations continue to meet on a regular basis and are working closely together. Officials are also engaging with industry stakeholders and international counterparts, and held an industry roundtable on 24 July. [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/news/cryptoassets-taskforce-meets-for-the-first-time

Soft Drinks: Taxation

Tom Watson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made an estimate of how much money would be generated annually were the soft drinks levy to be extended to milk-based drinks; and if he will make a statement.

Robert Jenrick: As set out in Phase 2 of the Childhood Obesity Strategy, HMT will review the Soft Drinks Industry Levy exemption for milk-based drinks in 2020. At this stage, we have not made an assessment of the revenue that would be generated. The Levy is designed to tackle childhood obesity by incentivising producers and importers to reduce the amount of added-sugar in the drinks they sell. So far, over half of all drinks that would otherwise have been in-scope have reduced their sugar content before the introduction of the levy, meaning expected revenues have reduced from over £500m pa to £240m pa.

Trade

Alex Norris: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the additional (a) customs and (b) security resources required to maintain frictionless trade through UK ports after the UK leaves the EU.

Mel Stride: HMRC currently have 1,250 people working on EU exit mostly in planning and preparatory roles. In addition they have also recently recruited for a number of operational roles that could be deployed to meet HMRC priorities, including EU Exit. HMRC’s additional resource requirements will be dependent on the outcome of the negotiations. Border Force is recruiting 300 frontline officers to allow existing staff to be trained in new requirements ahead of EU Exit. In addition Border Force are recruiting up to 1,000 Border Force officers to meet a range of business needs, including meeting normal staff turnover associated with a large operational business such as Border Force. It will also support Border Force to respond flexibly to emerging requirements, including any future requirements as a result of EU Exit.

Working Tax Credit: Disability

Ruth George: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people were eligible for the disabled worker element of Working Tax Credit in each of the last five years.

Ruth George: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many households with disabled children were eligible for the Disabled Child element of Child Tax Credit in each of the last five years.

Ruth George: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many households received both the disabled worker element of Working Tax Credit and Disabled Child element of Child Tax Credit in each of the last five years.

Ruth George: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many households in receipt of the disabled worker element of Working Tax Credit also received Child Tax Credit in each of the last five years.

Elizabeth Truss: Information on the number of families and workers in receipt of disabled worker element and the number of in-work families in receipt of the disabled child element are published in our yearly finalised annual awards statistics publication at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/personal-tax-credits-statisticsThe numbers of families who are eligible for, but not claiming these elements is not available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. Information on the average number of families benefitting from these elements of the Child and Working Tax Credits in the last five years for which we have finalised awards data is shown in the attached table.  



Attachment to PQ UIN 166273
(Word Document, 14.1 KB)

Offshore Industry: North Sea

Ian Mearns: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the cost to the public purse of was decommissioning projects in the (a) Northern, (b) Central and (c) Southern North Sea in (i) 2016 and (ii) 2017; and what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse in each North Sea region in 2018.

Robert Jenrick: We do not hold information that provides a breakdown of decommissioning tax relief by region, or a historic breakdown by year.HM Revenue and Customs currently estimate that the total cumulative Exchequer cost of decommissioning tax relief (comprised of Petroleum Revenue Tax, Ring Fence Corporation Tax and Supplementary Charge) will be £24 billion out to 2062/63. Further details can be found in the recently published statistics of government revenues from UK oil and gas: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/721314/Statistics_of_government_revenues_from_UK_oil_and_gas_production__June_2018__.pdf.

Personal Savings

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to promote personal savings and investments in (a) the North East and (b) England.

John Glen: The Government is committed to supporting savers across the UK at all stages of life and has introduced a range of measures in recent years to help people build their savings in the way that is right for them. This year we are introducing a new Help to Save scheme to support working families on low incomes to build up a rainy-day fund, by offering a 50% bonus on up to £50 of monthly savings. We have also increased the ISA allowance by a record amount to £20,000 and introduced a Personal Savings Allowance of up to £1,000 for basic rate taxpayers and £500 for higher rate taxpayers. Thanks to these measures over 95% of people pay no tax on their savings income. ISA statistics detailing the percentage of the adult population who hold an ISA and their average market value, broken down for different regions and countries in the UK, can be found online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/individual-savings-account-statistics

Brexit: Costs

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has identified costs in addition to the estimation of a settlement of £35-39 billion that the UK will need to pay as a result of leaving the EU.

Elizabeth Truss: The settlement agreed with the EU represents a comprehensive settlement covering all of the mutual commitments between the EU and the UK. The Chancellor was clear in his letter to the TSC that £35-39 billion is a reasonable central estimate, as agreed in the joint report and produced using publicly available European Commission data. The NAO report concluded this was a reasonable estimate. The OBR estimated, at the Spring Statement, that the settlement would be around £37bn.With respect to additional spending to deal with exit preparations HM Treasury has allocated over £2 billion of additional funding to departments and the Devolved Administrations so far. This breaks down as:-£412m of additional funding over the spending review period for DExEU, DIT and the FCO at Autumn Statement 2016.-£286m of additional funding for 17/18 (a full breakdown of which can be found in Supplementary Estimates 17/18).-Over £1.5bn of additional funding for 18/19. A full breakdown of which can be found in the Chief Secretary’s Written Ministerial Statement, HCWS540, laid on the 13th March (https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2018-03-13/HCWS540/).The Chancellor also set aside at Autumn Statement 2017 an additional £1.5 billion for costs in 2019-20. This money will be allocated later this year. The Chancellor was also clear in his letter that the value of the settlement is, by its very nature, dependent on future events and that it was not possible to put a definitive number on it.

Private Rented Housing: Stamp Duty Land Tax

John Healey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many renting households have paid stamp duty land tax (SDLT) in each of the last five years; and how much SDLT has been paid by such households in total.

Mel Stride: The table below provides estimates of the number of residential transactions that were liable for the leasehold rates of SDLT based on the net present value (NPV) of the rent. NPV of the rental amount for leasehold property transactions is the total rent paid over the term of the lease, discounted to take account of the time value of money. This includes transactions that where SDLT at the residential premium rates was paid on the leasehold premium value: Estimates of Residential Transactions liable to SDLT on rental amounts 1 Tax yearNumber of liable transactionsValue of SDLT paid (£m)  2012-132,900 11  2013-142,900 11  2014-153,600 14  2015-165,200 20  2016-17,P5,800 33 1 SDLT ceased being charged in Scotland from April 2015 so figures from 2015-16 onwards are not directly comparable to earlier years P Provisional figures

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Social Media: Harassment

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with representatives of social media providers on (a) misogynistic, (b) racist, (c) homophobic and (d) transphobic online abuse; and what steps he is taking to tackle that abuse.

Margot James: I refer the Hon. Member to my answer to Written PQ 159608 on 9 July 2018.

Social Media: Harassment

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to ensure that social media companies (a) tackle the activities of online trolls  and (b) facilitate the reporting of online abuse by victims.

Margot James: The Government response to the Internet Safety Strategy consultation, published in May 2018, announced our intention to publish a joint DCMS-Home Office White Paper to set out more definitive steps on online harms and safety. The response also set out details relating to our social media code of practice and transparency reporting. The statutory code of practice provides guidance to social media providers on appropriate reporting mechanisms and moderation processes to tackle abusive content. By setting out clear standards for industry, we will make sure there is improved support for users online, and that more companies are taking consistent action to tackle abuse

Holidays: Coastal Areas

Damien Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to encourage UK citizens to take holidays in UK seaside towns.

Michael Ellis: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 24 July 2018.The correct answer should have been:

DCMS works hard to support the UK’s coastal destinations, engaging closely with the National Coastal Tourism Academy (NCTA) to stay abreast of current trends, opportunities and concerns. Together with VisitEngland, the £40m Discover England Fund project supports several coastal products, developed to target international visitors but also benefit domestic tourism. Projects such as England’s Coast led by the NCTA, South West Coastal Path led by the South West Coast Path Association and England’s Seafood Coast, led by the English Tourism Riviera Company are some examples of DEF projects in coastal regions. VisitBritain (VB) run coastal destinations groups which generally meet four times a year, discussing the challenges facing coastal destinations with the aim of sharing insights and best practice, developing joint policy positions to address those deemed most important.VB sit on the Coastal Tourism Leadership Forum(run by the NCTA), helping to shape the Coastal Visitor Economy Vision and Action Plan. DCMS are observers at the forum.

Michael Ellis: DCMS works hard to support the UK’s coastal destinations, engaging closely with the National Coastal Tourism Academy (NCTA) to stay abreast of current trends, opportunities and concerns. Together with VisitEngland, the £40m Discover England Fund project supports several coastal products, developed to target international visitors but also benefit domestic tourism. Projects such as England’s Coast led by the NCTA, South West Coastal Path led by the South West Coast Path Association and England’s Seafood Coast, led by the English Tourism Riviera Company are some examples of DEF projects in coastal regions. VisitBritain (VB) run coastal destinations groups which generally meet four times a year, discussing the challenges facing coastal destinations with the aim of sharing insights and best practice, developing joint policy positions to address those deemed most important.VB sit on the Coastal Tourism Leadership Forum(run by the NCTA), helping to shape the Coastal Visitor Economy Vision and Action Plan. DCMS are observers at the forum.

BBC Board: Northern Ireland

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what interim arrangements are in place to ensure that the interests of Northern Ireland are fully represented on the BBC Board in the absence of Northern Ireland executive.

Margot James: The BBC Board has implemented interim arrangements to ensure that Northern Ireland interests are fully represented. This includes the Chairman acting as a member of the Northern Ireland sub-committee and feeding these views into the main board. Elan Closs Stephens, the BBC non-executive director for Wales, is also a member of the Committee which is chaired by Board member Ken MacQuarrie, the Director of Nations and Regions.

Tourism

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of the economic value of the events industry to tourism in (a) London and (b) the UK.

Michael Ellis: Business visits and events are extremely important aspects of the visitor economy. In 2016, the UK welcomed 9.12million inbound visitors for business visits who spent £5.46bn while here. 3.62m of these visits were to London with £3.25bn being spent in the capital. A report by VisitBritain shows that delegates attending an event in the UK who extended their trip for leisure purposes would spend double the amount of money they would spend than if they went home directly after the event (£1,942 compared to £991).

Entertainments and Exhibitions

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what (a) financial and (b) other support his Department provides to the UK events and exhibitions industry.

Michael Ellis: In order to support our important business visits and events sector, DCMS published the Business Visits and Events Strategy in 2015 which laid out our commitment to the sector. We also created the Events Industry Board, which brings together key stakeholders to discuss opportunities and concerns from the sector, and act as a sounding board between the industry and ministers. VisitBritain(VB) provides support with two funding streams for the Business Events Growth Programme and increasing awareness and consideration of the UK as a business event destination. VB also provide a Government advocacy programme, using cross-Whitehall contacts to provide Ministerial support to aid cities’ bids for international events and conferences.

Broadband

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, which (a) local authority areas and (b) constituencies have an average download speed for fixed broadband services of less than 30 Mbps.

Margot James: This information is available at the independent website, ‘Thinkbroadband’ (http://labs.thinkbroadband.com/local/england).

Broadcasting

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether his Department has made an estimate of the number of international broadcasting companies based in the UK that broadcast to the rest of the EU.

Margot James: As the regulatory authority for broadcasting, Ofcom has the most up-to-date information on the number of broadcasters licensed in the UK.The government is committed to continue engaging with individual companies and relevant industry bodies to understand their priorities and concerns.

Rugby (Sport): Females

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to help promote the sport of women's rugby.

Tracey Crouch: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 24 July 2018.The correct answer should have been:

The government’s sport strategy “Sporting Future” highlighted the importance of welfare and wellbeing for everyone participating in elite sport, regardless of age.In March 2018 I published a mental health and elite sport action plan, based on discussions I held with sportspeople and key stakeholders from across the sport and mental health sectors. The plan sets out a range of actions to improve the support available to athletes, the sharing of best practice across the sport sector, and mental health education and training in sport.As highlighted in the plan, UK Sport has worked with key agencies to develop a Mental Health Strategy, being implemented during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games cycle (2017-2021). The aim of the strategy is to deliver positive mental health for all people operating in the high performance system, for athletes as well as senior leaders, coaches, practitioners and administrators. The government’s sport strategy “Sporting Future” highlighted the importance of focusing on groups that are particularly unlikely to take part in sport and physical activity, such as women and girls. It is vital we build on successes like the performance of England at the Women’s Rugby World Cup in 2017 to inspire more girls and women to get involved in sport. Sport England, government’s arm’s length body for community sport, is funding both the Rugby Football Union (RFU) and Rugby Football League (RFL) to build capacity and encourage participation. Both of these national governing bodies have also partnered with Sport England’s “This Girl Can” campaign, to encourage more women and girls to get involved with their sports. Government is also supporting the staging and legacy of the 2021 Rugby League World Cup, which will be hosted by England and will bring together the women’s, men’s and wheelchair tournaments for the first time.

Tracey Crouch: The government’s sport strategy “Sporting Future” highlighted the importance of welfare and wellbeing for everyone participating in elite sport, regardless of age.In March 2018 I published a mental health and elite sport action plan, based on discussions I held with sportspeople and key stakeholders from across the sport and mental health sectors. The plan sets out a range of actions to improve the support available to athletes, the sharing of best practice across the sport sector, and mental health education and training in sport.As highlighted in the plan, UK Sport has worked with key agencies to develop a Mental Health Strategy, being implemented during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games cycle (2017-2021). The aim of the strategy is to deliver positive mental health for all people operating in the high performance system, for athletes as well as senior leaders, coaches, practitioners and administrators. The government’s sport strategy “Sporting Future” highlighted the importance of focusing on groups that are particularly unlikely to take part in sport and physical activity, such as women and girls. It is vital we build on successes like the performance of England at the Women’s Rugby World Cup in 2017 to inspire more girls and women to get involved in sport. Sport England, government’s arm’s length body for community sport, is funding both the Rugby Football Union (RFU) and Rugby Football League (RFL) to build capacity and encourage participation. Both of these national governing bodies have also partnered with Sport England’s “This Girl Can” campaign, to encourage more women and girls to get involved with their sports. Government is also supporting the staging and legacy of the 2021 Rugby League World Cup, which will be hosted by England and will bring together the women’s, men’s and wheelchair tournaments for the first time.

Sports: Mental Health

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to promote the discussion of mental health concerns among young athletes.

Tracey Crouch: The government’s sport strategy “Sporting Future” highlighted the importance of welfare and wellbeing for everyone participating in elite sport, regardless of age.In March 2018 I published a mental health and elite sport action plan, based on discussions I held with sportspeople and key stakeholders from across the sport and mental health sectors. The plan sets out a range of actions to improve the support available to athletes, the sharing of best practice across the sport sector, and mental health education and training in sport.As highlighted in the plan, UK Sport has worked with key agencies to develop a Mental Health Strategy, being implemented during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games cycle (2017-2021). The aim of the strategy is to deliver positive mental health for all people operating in the high performance system, for athletes as well as senior leaders, coaches, practitioners and administrators.

House of Commons Commission

Parliamentary Estate: Security

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington, representing the House of Commons Commission, whether the Commission holds information on the number of security passes to access the Parliamentary estate held by (a) males and (b) females working for hon. Members as Parliamentary Assistants or Researchers.

Tom Brake: As at 19 July 2018, the Pass Office database showed that 782 security passes were held by male researchers, and 512 security passes were held by female researchers. Parliamentary Assistant is not a category on the pass application.